What is the tallest grass in the world?

Nature does not cease to amaze us again and again. On the planet there are glades, in a huge grass where a person feels like a lilliput. What is the tallest grass in the world? Read more about this below.

The concept of grass

Botanists distinguish three main groups of plants:

• Trees - plants are characterized by the presence of a single high tree trunk, from which branches branch off,
• Shrubs - there is no main trunk. Instead, several equivalent thin tree stems are formed,
• Grass - they have instead of the trunk soft stems, which die every year. They are subdivided, depending on the duration of the complete life cycle (vegetation period and fruiting), on one-, two-, and multi-year.

Variety in nature

On Earth, there are several hundred thousand various herbs: burdock, nettle, aster, ledum, cornflower, oregano, clover, hemp, lemon balm, plantain and celandine ... Everything can not be enumerated. A person actively uses them in everyday life - consumes them in food, harvests fodder for cattle, prepares medicinal drugs, extracts dyes, and produces tissues.

Nature has given us very unusual herbs:

• The chemical composition of valerian varies depending on the place of growth;
• The grass of the rhubarb produces a sound very much like crying when it is torn off;
• Mocryca (the name of herbs sometimes speaks for itself) - it is always wet to the touch, and where it grows, there will never be a drought;
• Plakun-grass at dawn or before rain "cries" - drops and drops of tears flow down its leaves and stems;
• Duckweed - an amazing herb without roots, stems and leaves, and its flower is difficult to distinguish with the naked eye;
• St. John's wort, not ginseng, is considered the most useful medicinal herb, it is called "medicine for 100 diseases."

And which grass is the highest in the world?

Amazing Grove

In the humid tropics, there are often amazing forests - slender rows of light stems-straw, towering above the ground for tens of meters, resemble still scenery of the theatrical stage. Walls are trunks - bare and smooth, only their peaks are densely decorated with evergreen large leaves. Here there is silence and light twilight. What exotic trees? The most amazing thing is that these are not trees! This is a tall green grass! The most unusual grass in the world. The tallest and fastest growing grass on the planet. There are no analogues of this plant .

Walking among the slender giant trunks, it's hard to believe that you are just wandering in a glade overgrown with thick grass ... A wondrous plant is called bamboo.

Description of the plant

Botanists know almost 130 species of bamboo. The highest grass in the world belongs to the family of cereals. His homeland is South, South-East and East Asia, later it was brought to the African continent and to South America. It is believed that this happened at the time of James Cook. Types of bamboo differ significantly. In some, the trunk is thin and elastic, while in others, on the contrary, it is thick, coarse, but very durable. Dwarf bamboo grows to 2.5 meters, while the giant grows to a height of 40 meters. As a rule, the stem consists of knees 25-40 cm in length.

The chemical composition is generally the same for all species: 100 grams of the plant contains an average of 90 g of water, 2 g of protein, 5 g of fats, 1 g of dietary fiber , only 0.1 g of useful carbohydrates, 25 mg of calcium, 30 mg of phosphorus , 1 mg of iron.

Bamboo loves a hot humid climate, in which grows large, bright green and juicy leaves. In a temperate climate, where there is less moisture and lower temperatures, the plant also survives, but it becomes thinner, turns yellow and can lose foliage.

Notable features of a miracle plant

Bamboo is the record holder in many ways:

• This is the fastest growing plant on Earth. Its growth rate is up to 40 cm per day. If you look closely at the stem, you can see how it grows. Its maximum height reaches 1-1.5 months after the emergence from the ground of the sprout, in the future the bamboo only throws out rare side stalks with leaves. Such an amazing ability is not possessed by any other plant on the planet.
• The entire population blooms simultaneously once in several decades. After flowering, the aerial part of the bamboo grove perishes, but the roots remain alive. From the roots and fallen seeds to the ground for 5-7 years a new "glade" grows. Some species bloom once in 100 years. The Chinese believe that those who are fortunate enough to see its flowering will be lucky until the end of their days.
• Bamboo is one of the most hypoallergenic plants.

Application

This is the highest grass in the world is a quality building material. In dried form it is used to create gutters, water pipes.

From the bamboo, oriental peoples make furniture, musical instruments (most often flutes). Also, the stems - hollow sturdy straws - are used for the manufacture of cases, utensils. It is believed that the water stored in bamboo vessels becomes curative.

From it, the natives make primitive weapons - arrows, bows, spears. Used in the construction of boats and ships, bridges. From the split stems of bamboo weave mats, baskets, make pipes, blinds and even sails. Of the leaves of bamboo, the Chinese make high-quality paper.

Young shoots are used for food, fresh drinks are prepared from them, and cattle are fed on leaves. Often planted as a hedge, which simultaneously performs protective and decorative functions.

In many Asian countries, the world's highest grass is used as a medicinal plant. Its leaves are treated with measles, venereal diseases.

However, the plant must be careful, since the bamboo shoots of the ordinary contain a deadly poison - a cyanogenic glycoside, 50 mg of which kill a person. There have been cases of severe poisoning of bamboo leaves by pets, especially horses often hurt.

Cultural significance

Bamboo is a herb that is credited with many magical properties. The Chinese believe that the plant gives longevity, in India it is a symbol of true friendship, and the Filipinos believe that bamboo on the site will draw joy into the house. Japan took it for a symbol of purity and cleanliness of the heart. Although there are peoples who consider it a bad sign to bloom bamboo. This, in their opinion, portends hunger.

African natives worship bamboo for its strength and inflexibility. The best gift for newlyweds is considered to be light, durable and elegant products made of bamboo - furniture, dishes, ornaments.

Honorable second place

What is the name of tall grass, which in the ranking of giant plants is after bamboo? It's a banana. In third place is a variety of millet, which grows on the island of Hindustan. And, finally, the fourth place in the ranking "the world's tallest grass" is taken by the greenery of the jungle, in which an elephant can easily escape.

Now you know the name of the herbs that grow above 4-5 meters: they are all inhabitants of hot countries with a humid climate.