Giant Thorny Bamboo seeds, Bambusa arundinacea/bambos, Thorny bamboo, edible

Bambusa bambos is a perennial Poaceae with a 24-32 year life cycle. It grows in erect clumps up to 20-35 m high. It is thick walled, with a diameter of 8-18 cm. There are 1-3 spines at each branch node. Leaves are thin, linear, up to 20 cm long. It needs several years to become mature (12 years). Flowering is gregarious and requires about 16 years to happen. After flowering, seedling is profuse and the clump dies soon after it. Bambusa bambos is cultivated for building and scaffolding. The leaves can be used as fodder while shoots can be considered as vegetables and prepared to make food. The seeds are edible and used in times of scarcity of food. The shoot shells, a by-product of the industrial processing of canned bamboo shoots, are available as both fresh and boiled material and can be used as feedstuffs.

Germination:

 

Germinating them isn't easy. Best is to let the seeds soak in tepid water for about 12 hours then hardly cover seeds with moist soil and store at a warm place at about 25°C.

 

It's important to always keep constant moisture what could be improved by simply covering the pot with kitchen foil but anyway it has to be ventilated twice a day to avoid mold.

 

Depending on temperature germination will start after about 4-5 weeks