There are over 1600 species of bamboo, which have adapted to many environments. It can be harvested in three to five years, whereas most softwoods take ten to twenty years. Bamboo also tolerates extremes of precipitation, from 30-250 inches of annual rainfall, as well as droughts.

Environmentally, this grass generates 35% more oxygen than an equivalent amount of trees while it cleanses the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and purifies the soil. Its roots help prevent erosion and rain run-off. In addition it provides shade, an acoustical barrier and a windbreak.

As a building material, bamboo has advantages over wood due to its flexibility, strength and lightweight. These qualities also allow it to “dance” during an earthquake.

After the violent 1992 Costa Rica earthquake, only the bamboo houses from the National Bamboo Project remained standing in the affected area.

Bamboo’s versatility applies to other building uses also. Ply bamboo can be used for wall paneling and flooring, while the stalks serve as raw material for housing construction and rebar for reinforced concrete beams. Bamboo’s tensile strength is 18,000 pounds per square inch, making it stronger than any other wood.

Now we are finding that Bamboo ‘silk’ protects against UV and bugs make room in your wardrobe for bamboo. Fibers formed from pulped bamboo can be woven into strong, silky fabrics that wick away sweat. Now they have been made to absorb harmful UV rays and kill bacteria as well.

Bamboo, which is the fastest-growing plant and requires no pesticides, is touted as an environmentally friendly material. However, while its natural ability to kill bacteria has been hyped, Subhash Appidi and Ajoy Sarkar at Colorado State University in Fort Collins found that some finished bamboo fabric does not have this ability, and could cause unpleasant odors. The fabric they tested also let in UV light.

The pair added UV-absorbing molecules to a commercially available bactericide. Bamboo fabric dipped in the mixture killed 80 per cent of bacteria and blocked UV rays.