Bamboo: Plant morphology, agronomic aspects, human utilization and perspectives

Bamboos are monocot plants in the family of grasses and sub-family Bambusoideae, which comprises about 75 genera and more than 1200 species growing in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of all continents except Europe. Several factors, such as latitude, altitude, temperature, soil and pluviometric distribution, influence on the cultivation of bamboo. There is a need to know the morphological structure of bamboo for better management of the culture, thus providing better gains for both farmers and the industry using bamboo. There is great interest due to applications in construction, food, landscaping, manufacture of tissue and mainly as raw material in industrial production of cellulose. This review is linked to cultural aspects, morphology of the plant, its utilities for man and the perspectives of bamboo.