101 Plant Mysteries Most Interesting to Children

Author: Liu Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: In terms of horizontal growth, Paulownia grows the fastest. A 7-year-old Paulownia tree can reach a trunk diameter of 50 cm. In terms of vertical growth, the fastest is the New Guinea eucalyptus, which can grow 8 meters tall per year. The fastest daily average height growth, however, belongs to bamboo. Bamboo shoots take only 40 to 50 days to grow into young bamboo, reaching a height of 12 meters, but once bamboo is fully grown, it no longer grows taller. In terms of bamboo shoot growth time, bamboo shoots grow especially fast after rain because their stems are different from other plants. Most plants only grow at the tip of their stems, while bamboo shoots are segmented, with each segment growing at the same time. If a bamboo shoot has 50 segments, its growth speed is 50 times faster than that of other plants. Bamboo grows very quickly in height but cannot grow in diameter. This is because the stem of a tree contains a layer of cells called the cambium, which continuously divides new cells outward, causing the tree to grow thicker. Bamboo lacks this cambium layer, so it can only grow taller and cannot grow wider. P23