1.Any of various usually woody, temperate or tropical grasses of the genera Arundinaria, Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Phyllostachys, or Sasa. 2.The hard or woody stems of these plants, used in construction, crafts, and fishing poles. Bamboo Bamboo, common name for about 45 genera and about 480 species of perennial, woody, usually shrubby or treelike plants of the grass family. Bamboos occur mostly in tropical and subtropical areas. They are most abundant in southeastern Asia, but some species exist in the Americas and Africa.
Bamboos have woody, jointed stems called culms.
The culms consist of hollow sections called internodes, which are interrupted by regularly spaced solid partitions called nodes . At each node a sheath protects a bud, which may develop into either a branch or a flower cluster. Bamboos are used widely by humans. In the tropics they are used for constructing houses, rafts, bridges, and scaffolding. Young shoots are eaten as a vegetable.