Surprising to many, bamboo is actually a grass.  Many larger bamboos are very tree-like in appearance and are often called "bamboo trees". However bamboos are different from trees in that they lack the perpetually growing layer of a tree's trunk beneath the bark that increases a tree's diameter each year; and they lack the cells that make a tree grow taller.  A single stem of bamboo normally reaches full height in one growing season.  A bamboo "tree" can live for several years, increasing the number of side branches, but growing neither broader nor taller.

  When treated bamboo forms a very hard wood which is both light and exceptionally strong. In some tropical areas it is used in home construction as well as such varied uses as building bridges, furniture, canoes -- even musical instruments.  Bamboo grows wild on most of the Hawaiian Islands, however it is not a cultivated crop and does not contribute significantly to the state's economy.  Still the bamboo patches found throughout Hawaii add to the tropical lushness of the Islands and are a valued part of our environment.

    
  
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