Bamboos are members of the grass family (Poaceae). Like other grasses, bamboos have jointed stems, small flowers enclosed in structures known as spikelets, a specially modified embryo within the seed, and a grainlike fruit. However, bamboos are the only major group of grasses adapted to the forest habitat, and they differ from other grasses in having highly scalloped photosynthetic cells in their leaves. Many bamboos have tall, somewhat arched stems, but others are shrubby, or slender and twining, and some resemble ferns. The largest bamboos reach 30 meters (100 feet) in height and 30 centimeters (12 inches) in diameter, while the smallest ones have delicate stems no more than 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall.

There are at least twelve hundred known species of bamboos worldwide, which occur from 46°N (Sakhalin Island, Russia) to 47°S (southern Chile), although most are tropical or warm temperate. Bamboos often grow at low elevations, but many species grow in...