http://www.endangeredspecies.com/Plants/Bamboo/Text/Info/History/A.htm

Most Bamboo originated in Asia and India.  It grows wild throughout southern and western China, where for thousands of years it has been used for food, building material, garden material, visual pleasure, and a symbol of strength through flexibility.  Meng Tzu, a philosopher in the 4th century BC described 'large gardens in ancient China which contained trees, flowers, animals and Bamboo used as a growing plant and all sorts of garden construction.'

Bamboo was common and widespread throughout the ancient oriental world, and yet if you search for old oriental paintings or literature dealing with Bamboo, you find it used as a background or symbol suggesting stability and longevity, rather than as a primary subject.    In an ancient Japanese legend a lonely, homesick boy exclaims - ‘How in three short years since I left, has the home of my childhood vanished?  Is the Bamboo fence no more?’

In the 3rd century seven Chinese wise men tired of court life and retired into a Bamboo grove to discuss culture and philosophy without distraction for the rest of their lives, thus setting a dramatic practical example for succeeding generations.

The Japanese Princess So-toshi, sang to the Emperor in 419 - ‘My beloved must be coming this evening, the behavior of spiders on the Bamboo is striking.’

Often in oriental art, after the grace, calm and stability of Bamboo has been established, the work is then ornamented with passion - or perhaps there was more passion in ancient Japan?  From this song, which was sung each year at medieval rice-planting festivals it appears Japanese Bamboo gardens were not just used for sitting and gazing - ‘Is that Bamboo grove a tower? Or a pleasure chamber? Not tower or pleasure chamber, but a fine place to lay down - better than a mat. A grove is a place for laying down and the best part of sleep on the grass is doing it together. I lay down the one I loved in that grove once.’

Po Chu I, 772-846 wrote of a conflict between utility and beauty - ‘The Bamboo you harvest with summer flowers to make flutes and fishing poles will not be available for viewing when the snow falls.’

Sailing rafts were lightweight, watertight, unsinkable platforms built by lashing together large diameter Bamboo canes which, when abandoned or washed up on a beach, rooted and became new plants.

Japanese homes were often built of large Bamboo poles lashed together with vines and then filled in with a framework of lighter Bamboo canes and finally enclosed with woven Bamboo walls and a roof of Bamboo thatch. The diagonal bracing of the roof structure was similar in principal to modern earthquake bracing. The raised floor, vertical structure, modular rectangular patterns, and dominant heavy sloped roof structure all became major elements in traditional Japanese architecture and later became important themes in modern architecture throughout the world.

An all-purpose medicine called Tabasheer was extracted from the silica lining inside Bamboo culms and has been found by modern doctors to be an antidote for food-poisoning, and a sex hormone.

During the 7th century many Chinese gardening manuals began to appear.  One of the most complete works, 'Yuan Yeh' advises 'siting gardens in private, out-of-the-way locations made to last a thousand years and planting Bamboo groves to provide a stillness for captivating the heart'. Bamboo was painted in a dedicated manner before 600 AD with painstaking care, outlining stems and leaves in ink and then filling in with body color.  By 900 such paintings of Bamboo had become a cultural craze throughout China.

Bamboo was a popular subject for Japanese poetry and was addressed as an intimate friend, relative, or even lover, as for example in this poem, written in 902 by Sugawara No Michizane.  He was in political exile and terribly homesick at the time.

"On a Snowy Night, Thinking of Bamboos at Home."

In the 12th century the Chinese poet Pou Sou-tung wrote, ‘A meal should have meat, but a house must have Bamboo - without meat we merely become thin, but without Bamboo we lose serenity and culture itself’.

The great Mongol emperor Kublai Khan sent his troops south to conquer all of China in the 13th century.  Mongol hordes rolled over China and ravaged and conquered the people; later they settled down and absorbed their culture.  Khan became Emperor of all China in 1280. During this period, called the Yuan Dynasty 1260-1368, while China was being ruled by outsiders, the painting of Bamboo with brush and monochrome ink on paper became an important art form which was practiced with great personal intensity and privacy.  The style required the artist to master painting composition, brush control, and calligraphy, as well as knowledge of Bamboo.  Many intellectuals and scholars retreated from public life and devoted their entire lives to study, painting, and writing about Bamboo.  There were numerous illustrated Bamboo manuals, including paintings by Wu Chen in 1350.

Chinese gardens were developed as places for reflection, meditation and withdrawal.  Artist, scholars, and their public retreated to private gardens of brain-waves similar to those induced by television.  But instead of video games and the news, they focused on rock, water, and the ‘four noble plants’ - Bamboo, Orchids, Plum Trees, and Chrysanthemums.  Bamboo was symbolic of the wise man who, shaken violently by a storm, bends but never breaks.

A small Bamboo garden of the period was owned by a civil servant named Lin Ch’ing in the city of Ch’ing-Chiang-P’u.

During the Yuan dynasty, painting was often conceived as the quick play of the brush to express a mood or feeling, usually done quickly, on the inspiration of the moment.  Zen philosophy (a reaction against studied, virtuoso technique) taught that inner flashes of enlightenment yielded true art.  It was said 'In order to paint Bamboo, one must study Bamboo for a thousand years, forget Bamboo, and then paint Bamboo in an instant!' Notice how closely knowledge of Bamboo was mixed with painting theory in this free interpretation of instructions from one of the how-to-paint books of the day - 'When young Bamboo sprouts, it is only an inch high, but the entire mature plant is latent in that tiny sprout.  All nature grows like that - whether it be cicadas, snakes, or Bamboo that shoots up a hundred feet into the air.  Many artists construct their paintings joint by joint and leaf by leaf, according to a formula they have memorized.  But where is the spirit in that?  To paint Bamboo one must first absorb the spirit of Bamboo - then, when ready to paint, one concentrates on that spirit and pursues the image with one’s brush, like a hawk swooping down on a rabbit.'

The Chinese Emperor Ch’ien-lung himself painted Bamboo, and wrote poems praising the plant’s virtues.  One poem, written as part of one of his paintings, says 'The sight of Bamboo brings calm, and the proper place for a scholar is in the country, where the upright stature of Bamboo goes well with that of a gentleman.'

Bamboo, rocks and orchids were painted by Chao Meng-Fu 1254-1322, an unusually strong individual who did not retreat from public life, but became a painter, calligrapher, and scholar, as well as governor of 2 Chinese provinces.

When Marco Polo returned from China in 1298 he described Hangchow as "The Greatest City in The Whole World", and went on at length describing the beauty, extent, and grandeur of Chinese gardens.  He also recorded that since at least 200 BC the Chinese had been using bronze drill bits in Bamboo casings to drill down as far as 3,500 feet to create oil and water wells.  He described giant spears being shot out of Bamboo mortars, and Bamboo rockets filled with gunpowder.

In the 14th century a garden designer and teacher named Muso-kokushi planted seven small black Bamboo on a tiny island in a garden in Kyoto to memorialize his seven favorite pupils. The original design is still maintained with Bamboo descending from the original plants.

Early 16th century Japanese poem - ‘Dammit, they get pulled up all the time: my Bamboo shoots grow in my neighbor’s yard!’

Bamboo is common in both Chinese and Japanese meals.  However, the Japanese use Bamboo more often as decorative plants and for construction of fences, disposable outdoor furniture, scaffolding, wall finishes, and handicrafts.  They have 'Bamboo Wives' which are open pillows to allow air under the body while sleeping.

The Katsura Palace was built in Kyoto around 1650,  using bamboo as a floor surface on an open moon-viewing platform.

17^th century Japanese priest Gensai - ‘Bamboo leaves hang in front of my house.  At the back, they divide it from the world.  They cover it above and give shelter.  I, the Bamboo lover, find home within their shade.’ In accordance with his instructions, three Bamboo were planted, and still grow today on his grave.

Chinese porcelain bowls were glazed with an iron rust-red Bamboo pattern during the reign of Chia-ch’ing 1796—1820.

In 1834 Hokusai published 'One hundred views of Mt. Fuji', which included a view peeking through an open grove of giant timber bamboo.

Japanese poets have continued to celebrate Bamboo, even in the 20th century.  Hagiwara Sakutaro 1886-1942 wrote - ‘Something straight pierces the ground.  Something sharp and blue pierces the earth, stabs the winter ground. In the morning it sheds tears of repentance - now unseen, roots spread, something sharp and blue pierces the earth.’

In the last 150 years there has been a growing awareness of Bamboo in Europe and America. The first Bamboo known to be imported into Europe was Black Bamboo, and the year was 1827.  Japonica followed in 1850, Shibataea kumasaca in 1861, and viridistriata in 1870.

In 1855 Eugene Mazel, a frenchman who made a fortune importing spices from Asia, bought 34 hectares of land in southern France and began developing it as a large bamboo garden, which became known as 'Prafrance,' or 'La Bambouseraie.' Today it is one of the most famous and impressive gardens in the world,  visited by thousands of people every year.

The English botanist William Munro published 'A Monograph of the Bambusacae' in 1868, which described the 219 Bamboo species known at the time.

Stephen Nolan's 1871 nursery catalog  offered Phyllostachys Japonica plants for sale in Oakland, California.

H.H. Berger's 1887 catalog of Japanese plants included giant Japanese timber bamboo plants for sale in San Francisco.

In 1894 the California Nursery Company in Niles, California listed Arundinaria falcata, Pleioblastus simoni, Sasa auricoma, Metake, and Phyllostachys violescens.

In 1895 the American magazine 'Cosmos' published an article with photos showing extensive use of bamboo in China, including a grove, a bridge, a dike, crafts, vendors, baskets, and coolies.

In 1898 the U.S. Department of Agriculture began introducing plants from around the world in an attempt to strengthen the American economy.  In 1899 the USDA created the Office of Foreign Plant Introductions with a strong interest in promoting and introducing Bamboo.

Around 1900 the Southern California Acclimatizing Association offered Ningala Bamboo, Arundinaria hookeriana, Simon’s Bamboo, Bambusa vulgaris, Dendrocalamus latiflorus, Dendrocalamus strictus, Golden Bamboo, Black Bamboo, Phyllostachys bambusoides, Phyllostachys viridi-glaucescens, and Metake.

David Fairchild, in charge of USDA plant introductions, had 3500 clumps of various Bamboos shipped from Japan in an army transport ship to California in 1908.  Half were sent to the William Tevis Ranch in Bakersfield, a desert area 100 miles north of Los Angeles, and half to a plant introduction garden at Chico in northern California.  The Bakersfield clumps were planted outdoors in January and died.  The Chico clumps were planted in a heated greenhouse, watered heavily, and survived to be shipped to Brooksville, Florida a year later.

In 1913 the French botanist Camus published two volumes titled 'Les Bambusees',  describing over 485 Bamboos known at the time, including ink drawings of 260 species.

E.A. Mcllhenny planted 64 different kinds of Bamboo on 80 acres of land on Avery Island, Lousiana in 1918.  He was an enthusiastic Bamboo promoter, but his interest in Bamboo was overshadowed by his success producing and selling Tabasco sauce.  The Bamboo gardens on Avery Island are now called 'Jungle Gardens', and may be visited for a small fee.  Jungle Gardens sold Bamboo plants for years, but because of lack of knowledgeable staff and interest by the Mcllhenny family, they ceased their nursery operation in 1979.

In 1919 the USDA began requiring a two year quarantine on Bamboo introduced into the U.S. because of some smut and rust discovered on Phyllostachys imported from Japan.

In 1920 Cambridge, Mass. think-tank Arthur D. Little said 'Due to the extreme scarcity of wood pulp, Bamboo will, in our opinion, largely replace this material in the future, especially in the manufacture of high-grade book and magazine paper'.

In the 1920’s the USDA enthusiastically promoted Bamboo as a wonderful crop for small American farms.  They described fencing, trellises, poles, bird shelters, windbreaks, hedges, screens, forage, food, building construction, furniture, concrete reinforcing and the manufacture of paper.  A major problem in their campaign was the lack of large quantities of Bamboo for propagation, lack of a labor force familiar with the material, and the commitment of the U.S. building and furniture industries to steel, aluminum, and plastic.

In 1925 Barbour Lathrop found an acre of land 14 miles south of Savannah, Georgia which had been planted with various oriental Bamboo plants around 1895, and were 50-60’ high.  He bought the grove with 40 acres of surrounding land and deeded it to the U.S. government for plant introduction work.

Arthur D. Little reported in 1927 that 'Bamboo may be expected to yield 10-15 times as much high grade paper stock as the same area growing pulp wood.'

In 1928 the U.S. Plant Introduction Station near Savannah had been planted with 60-75 different species of Bamboo.  A good collection had also been planted at the U.S. Plant Field Station at Bell, Maryland.

Floyd McClure, an American, was an instructor and professor at Lingan University in Canton, China from 1919-1941.  During his lifetime he studied Bamboo throughout the Far East, Latin America, and the U.S.  He published papers on Bamboo from 1930-1960, culminating in his books 'The Bamboos, A Fresh Perspective' in 1966, and 'Genera of Bamboos Native to the New World' in 1973.

In 1940-1960 hundreds of thousands of American soldiers and tourists visited the orient and brought back a higher level of Bamboo consciousness than ever previously existed in the United States.

However, at the same time the USDA program of new plant introductions was not followed through consistently and steadily.  Today most of the Bamboo imported by the USDA is either dead or growing unidentified in unknown locations.

In 1958 the garden at Prafrance was seriously damaged by floods.

In 1961 the USDA stated it ‘Does not recommend large-scale Bamboo growing be undertaken in the expectation of making a profit, because there is no large market for the product in the U.S.’ The USDA stopped large-scale Bamboo research in 1965.   In 1982 the Barbour Lathrop Plant Introduction Garden near Savannah was taken over by the State of Georgia.

All efforts to grow Bamboo in the U.S. have subsequently been made by private collectors and growers.

Jim Coghlan, of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey called himself 'The Bamboo Man' and published a mail-order catalog from 1950-1970 which offered 25 varieties of Bamboo plus oriental shrubs and books.  Stone and pottery lanterns, basins and stone sculptures weighing up to a ton were shipped directly from Japan.  He was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable Bamboo promoter.  He sold Bamboo retail and wholesale.  He did contract plantings of Bamboo in major gardens such as the African Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair and Warner Brother’s 'Jungle Habitat' in New Jersey.  He helped plan numerous private Japanese gardens on the east coast.  He supplied Bamboo for 50 acre test plantings of Aureosulcata on exhausted strip coal mines in Kentucky and West Virginia.  He promoted Bamboo as a source of pulp for the paper industry, which he felt was a major financial opportunity.  He distributed a book of Japanese wood block prints called "Appreciation of Japanese Art", with an introduction by James Michener.  He spoke at garden clubs, had a mailing list of 65,000 customers who received catalogs every year, and appeared on the Johnny Carson Show.  Unfortunately the local government objected to the large number of cars and buses visiting his 4 acre residence and growing grounds.  After several law-suits he closed down his nursery.

A San Diego building contractor named Ron Fadem began collecting Bamboo in 1963.  He collected plants from nurseries and growers while traveling the U.S. doing buildings for the Photomat Company.  In 1970 he had collected 45 types.  In 1971 he authored an article about Bamboo in California Gardens Magazine.  He put together a collection of 80 different kinds and started Pacific Bamboo Gardens, which published a mail-order catalog.  Unfortunately, he died prematurely in 1978, leaving his collection to his partner, Ann Heck, who moved his plants to the San Diego Zoo, where 18 of his different species are still growing.

In 1977 Yves Crouzet took over management and development of the bamboo gardens at Prafrance.

In 1957 Ruth Baird Larabee had donated 25 acres of coastal property in Encinitas to the county of San Diego, which became known as Quail Botanical Gardens.  It contained plants accumulated by Mrs. Larabee since the 1930’s, including cork oaks, palms, cycads, hibiscus, aloes and cacti.

In 1975 Hermine Stover started a rare plant nursery in her basement in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  In 1979 she and husband Roger moved to Tustin, California and started growing bamboo for landscaping in Southern California.

In the late 1970’s the new convention center at Niagra Falls, New York and the new IBM. building in New York City both incorporated 50’ high clumps of giant Bamboo in their atrium-style .entranceways.  These plants were dug to order from the countryside in North and South Carolina with 20’-4O’ high canes and 30" diameter rootballs. They were successfully transplanted in both spring and fall.

In 1979 Quail Gardens contained one Bambusa oldhamii, and a clump of Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’.  Haubrich, Brennecke, and Voss asked the Quail Gardens Foundation if they could plant more bamboos.  Permission was given, and they planted half a dozen small plants of Bambusa beecheyana, tuldoides, oldhamii, and Chimonobambusa quadrangularis.

In February 1980 Haubrich visited the former site of the USDA Introduction station near Savannah, Georgia, where he dug various species of Phyllostachys. During 1980 Haubrich obtained a special permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to import bamboos, which opened the door to acquiring plants from outside the country. At first he traded plants with collectors in France. Soon the new bamboo organization became acquainted with Dr. Y. C. Lin in Taiwan, who in 1981 sent a shipment of tropical bamboos from the forest research institute there with which he was associated: Bambusa dolichomerithalla, B. dolichoclada, B. edulis, B. pachinensis, and Dendrocalamus giganteus.

Quail Gardens allowed the bamboo enthusiasts to use a small existing greenhouse at Quail Gardens for a quarantine facility.  Imported bamboos had to be held in quarantine for two years.  Hauhrich and his associates acquired a great many bamboos from specialty nurseries and botanical gardens. Many of those were planted or held at Quail Gardens. Other plants were obtained on collecting trips: Haubrich and Teague were in Costa Rica in 1980; Voss was in Mexico in the early 1980’s. Craig Brown, a local doctor, acquired a specimen of Bambusa sinospinosa near Canton, China, where he was attending a medical meeting; he strolled out to a nearby field and cut rhizomes with his pocket knife.

The first plants at Quail Gardens of Moso  were from seeds provided by Gib Cooper of Ukiah, CA who had a partner from China. Linda Teague also brought in seeds of Moso from Japan. Haubrich arranged with Quail Gardens that Moso seedlings could be sold to provide funds to maintain the quarantine house. Also, an annual sale, with an auction of rare plants, was begun by ABS to provide funds for buying more bamboo plants.

In 1985 the First International Bamboo Conference took place at Mayaguez in Puerto Rico.  Roger Stover attended that conference, broke his ankle and spent the night lost in the jungle wrapped in several plastic bags.

In 1988 the Second International Bamboo Conference took place at La Bambuseraie in southern France.

In 1991 the Third International Bamboo Conference took place in Minnanata, Japan.

In 1994 the Fourth International Bamboo Conference took place in Bali, Indonesia.

In 1998 the Fifth International Bamboo Conference took place in Costa Rica, Central America.

In the United States the main use for bamboo is landscaping and rare varieties lie primarily in the hands of amateur collectors and growers.

Sometime at the end of the 20th century the American Bamboo Society became fragmented into a loose collection of regional groups with competitive personalities active in each group.  This has produced an atmosphere where ego, personal recognition and commercial success was more important to the leaders of the society than their interest in and knowledge about bamboo.  In 2002 the email discussion group sponsored by the ABS became so competitive and volatile while at the same time repetitive and boring that few people with a serious interest in the plant could tolerate the waste of time and verbal abuse involved in being a member of such a group.  We are in process of weaning ourselves entirely from the ABS.