SHSU Botanical Research (Field Sketch) Yellow Groove Bamboo, PART 2

The Museum complex site where you find the bamboo growing is nestled behind Sam Houston's home and also is fondly known as the "Bamboo Forest." This plant species grows quickly and is invasive as a result has taken over much of the area, leading the groundskeeper to busily thin these plants, making it more manageable.

My first impressions while visiting the site was not only how impressive the number of Bamboo plants growing, but how massive the stalks were.  It truly was a forest full of Bamboo.

As I sat down to draw, I noticed a slight breeze which caused the Bamboo to sway creating a musical clanging noise. I felt like I was being serenaded by a giant wind chimes. 

The finished Field Sketch

Here are some of the interesting facts I learned about Bamboo:
There are over 1000 species of the Poaceae family which grows up to one meter per day.  The plant spreads by sending out underground stems called rhizomes which are classified as either "clumpers" or "runners.". If you have a choice the clumper is the preferable choice, because it is not as invasive and better at soil stabilization.

Although Bamboo is a grass it is strong enough to support a person 300 Ft. in the air.  Many parts of Asia use Bamboo instead of steel as a major construction material to build site scaffolding.  Architects call it "vegetal steel.".  Bamboo can be bound together to form posts, beams of a house or cables of a suspension bridge.

Bamboo is so versatile it can be carved into utensils, split and woven into mats, bent and shaped into objects both graceful and utilitarian, and laminated into floors which are harder than oak.  It is even being seriously looked at in Africa as a material to build inexpensive bicycle frames to provide a cheap method of transportation.

In Asian cuisine, it is the underground rhizomes that forms the bud that is harvested and cut into food called Bamboo Shoots.  The negative side is that rats also love to eat the seeds and then cause problems spreading rodent borne diseases.

UR:TURN: What is your favorite Asian cuisine that uses Bamboo Shoots, or have you seen or used Bamboo in some unusual way?

Until Next Time.

SHSU Botanical Study (Field Work)-Yellow Groove Bamboo, PART 1

In my last post I asked the question, who planted the yellow groove bamboo?  My investigation into this subject kept leading me back to the same source, Reo Kataoka.  Mr. Kataoka was a gardener employed by Judge Elkins in the 1940's.  One of his jobs was to tend to Judge Elkin's Japanese garden that was planted around his lake home. 

It appears history changed the course of Mr. Karaoke and his family's life with the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  The act of war set into motion national concerns about the Japanese Americans living in our country and their possible involvement.  Therefore in 1943 all Japanese Americans were sent to interment camps, including one that was located in the Huntsville area.  The camps locally not only housed the Japanese Americans, but also Germans.

Judge Elkins, did not want to see Reo and his family sent to one of these camps, so instead using his influence was instead able to get him employment caring for the Sam Houston Museum grounds. 

This is were the bamboo comes into play.  As a result, Reo for whatever reasons brought some bamboo seedlings which were planted behind the Houston home over 60 years ago. I can speculate it was to help with soil erosion and possibly even as a privacy screen.

Location behind Houston home.

Possibly planted to prevent soil erosion

and make a privacy screen

After the war his family decided to stay in Huntsville, work and attend school.  The family even opened and operated a successful plant nursery on the East end of Huntsville. 

Obituary article found about Mrs. Kataoka

My next post about the Yellow Bamboo will be showcasing my Field Sketch and interesting facts about this plant.

Until Next Time.