B
amboos include over 1,000 species of woody, perennial grasses in more than 100 genera. Most botanists place them in the tribe Bambuseae within the grass family Poaceae, a large family of 10,000 species and at least 600 genera. Grasses range in size from small annuals (Poa annua) to towering, timber bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus). This is unquestionably the most important plant family, providing the majority of food for humans and their domesticated animals. The grasses are relatively recent additions to the earth's flora, having evolved only 30 to 40 million years ago, long after the demise of the dinosaurs. Vast grasslands provided food for the rising age of herbivorous mammals which in turn provided the food for a variety of carnivores. Some plants called bamboo are not grasses. The popular, indoor lucky bamboo grown hydroponically in vases of water is actually Draceana sanderana, a member of the lily family (Liliaceae). It is also placed in the agave family (Agavaceae) and dracena family (Dracenaceae) by some botanists. Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) is a cultivated dicotyledonous shrub in the barberry family (Berberidaceae).
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