Why bamboo doesn’t bend according to Annals of Botany Blog 2 February 2015 and Annals of Botany doi: 10.1093/aob/mcu180. Adult bamboo is extremely strong and able to resist bending forces, yet bamboo stems do not have the “secondary growth”, which gives woody trees their strength. So what is the secret of its strength?
To find out what makes bamboo strong, scientists in Switzerland have studied cell wall composition, cellulose fibres and tissue slices of bamboo stems, then compared these with wood from a spruce tree. They found the cell wall chemical composition was much the same in the tree and bamboo, but the bamboo had “extremely compact fibres with a multi-lamellar cell wall”. The researchers suggest this densely packed multi-layered structure is “a plant growth strategy that compensates for the lack of secondary thickening growth at the tissue level, which is not only favourable for the biomechanics of the plant but is also increasingly utilized in terms of engineering products made from bamboo culms”.
Editorial Comment: Note well! It is not just the physical and chemical properties of the fibres in the cell wall. It is organisation of the stem components that gives bamboo its special properties. The dense multi-layered structure is a good “plant growth strategy”, but it’s time to admit guys that strategy involves plan and purpose, not chance random processes. Strategy and organisation only ever come from a creative designer using the available materials in a way to achieve a purpose. Therefore, it is foolish to ascribe the plant growth strategy of bamboo to the plant and or mindless evolution. Instead, as we find more uses for bamboo in engineering products, we should give thanks and praise the Creator Christ who gave such a useful, self-regenerating resource. (Ref. botany, design, engineering)
Evidence News vol.15, No. 3
11 March 2015
Creation Research Australia