Arundo Donax (common bamboo)

[Demy]

I hope this plant is called that in your part ....... I live in a place where she grows abundant .... is it utility for our hobby? I don't think it contains sugars but I could be wrong .... days I collected a little, I subjected them to a flame for decorative purposes ... they had a good smell. All thoughts are well accepted.

[jonnys_spirit]

I found this:
https://www.topbambooproducts.com/how-t ... mboo-wine/

Looks like a blend of ground bamboo and some other grains mashed with water and enzymes (koji), then distilled.

Interesting!

Cheers,
j

[subbrew]

I believe that falls into the holy grail of alcohol fuels, the ability to break down cellulose into starches/sugars that yeast can eat. So far that has not been commercially viable. If the process or enzymes are ever commercialized the idea is to be able to turn bamboo, saw grass, corn stalks and most any other woody plant material into fuel. It could open up some interesting flavors and ideas in our hobby as well.

[contrahead]

It ain't the same thing as true bamboo which is supposed to be the fastest growing plant in the world. Which grew next to my rental house on the Big Island, when I was living there.

I do have what looks exactly like the same plant from your picture, growing in my back yard right now – because I deliberately transplanted it there. It makes a good windbreak. We just call it “cane”. Unless harvested somehow though, it could become a fire hazard if located too close to a building.

One year I collected several bundles of the dried out (yellow stalks), cut them to the same length (about 7') and used 2nd hand nylon bailing twine to weave the stalks into screens or mats (like a roll up fence that blocks the vision). I have a car and a trailer that have been hidden behind such screens for 5 or 6 years now. Wired the mats between metal fence post pounded into the ground.

[Yummyrum]

Always select your Bamboo carefully .There are Clumping varieties and running varieties . I know of several houses in the town I last lived at that were constantly fighting the invasiveness of the running type . Once planted it is impossible to remove . Roundup will not kill it .
One guy dug a 6’ trench around his house and sunk corrugated Iron down it to make a barrier . Two years latter he had shoots on the other side .

We planted two species that were clumping types that were sold to us as suitable fir eating the Bamboo shoots and use as building material . Those suckers were easily 10 metres high and over 150 mm at the base after 15 years .

[Demy]

This grows spontaneously near waterways or in wetlands anyway....I don't want to grow it because it's found in nature (free)...here it's used in home agriculture as a support for tomatoes and stuff like that... Who knows if you could get some kind of rum?

[elbono]

What grows wild around me I call river cane. It does establish a grove but it isn't horribly invasive. It's great for bean poles and such.

I've had passing experience with "real bamboo" and failed attempts at controlling/eradicating it. I think kudzu is the only thing worse around here.

Once planted it is impossible to remove . Roundup will not kill it .
One guy dug a 6’ trench around his house and sunk corrugated Iron down it to make a barrier . Two years latter he had shoots on the other side .

The legend I heard is that a day after the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima the bamboo was sending up new shoots.

[NZChris]

I know where there is plenty of it that I could harvest for free, but I haven't heard of any methods of turning it into enjoyable spirit for drinking.

My guess is that if it did make nice spirit, some of the many countries that it thrives in would have traditional liquors made from it. I don't know of any.

[harold01]

It can be made into a nice spirit by harvesting and bundling it up, selling it to somebody who needs it and spending the money you receive on a nice bottle of spirit.