The grass family is a very large and important plant family. Most of our grains belong to it. In the grass family there is one tree, the bamboo. A bamboo tree may be 100 feet tall with a trunk a foot across. But, as a rule, bamboo trees are rather small. The trunk is jointed like a cornstalk. Like most grass stems, it is hollow.
Bamboo trees grow in warrn, moist lands. They are common in some parts of Asia and on many islands in the Pacific.
Bamboo seeds are good to eat. But bamboo trees do not bear seeds every year. Some bear seeds only once every 60 years.
The seeds are not the only part of the bamboo that can be eaten. Young bamboo shoots, or sprouts, are used as food, too. They are often used in chop suey.
The leaves of the bamboo make good food for cattle. They are also used in making paper. The hard, hollow trunks are useful in building houses and bridges, and in making furniture, curtains, and baskets. Small ones make good fishing poles. Large ones serve as water pipes.
