The plant that can grow 3ft every day

QUESTION What is the fastest growing plant? BAMBOO is by far the fastest growing plant. It belongs to the Bambusoideae subfamily of the perennial evergreen grass family Poaceae (Gramineae).

Often mistaken for a tree, there are key differences between bamboo grass and trees. Bamboos lack a vascular cambium layer and meristem cells at the top of the stem.

The vascular cambium is the ever-growing layer of a tree’s trunk beneath the bark that makes a tree increase in diameter. The meristem cells make a tree grow taller each year.

A bamboo stem reaches full height in one growing season. It then persists for years neither growing broader or taller.

The claim that bamboo grows 2-3ft a day (1.5in an hour) is misleading as not all bamboo species grow that fast. There are some 1,575 identified species of Bambusoideae in 111 different genera, which all grow at different rates. The Guinness Book Of Records states that the fastestgrowing plant ‘belongs to a certain bamboo species.’

One species of bamboo that can grow at these speeds is the Moso Bamboo or Chinese Moso (Phyllostachys edulis). It is the most important commercial species, used in the bamboo textile industry.

After the Moso is planted, no visible growth occurs for up to five years, then, it begins growing 2-3ft per day, reaching a full height of 90ft within six weeks. The Moso’s rapid growth is enabled by miles of roots it develops in its first five years. May Cox, Brighton. QUESTION Does the title ‘The People’s Princess’ predate Princess Diana? FURTHER to the earlier answer, by the 1880s Princess Mary Adelaide, who was dubbed ‘the People’s Princess, was deeply in debt. One to whom she owed money was Mr John Barker, who had a department store in Kensington. At a meeting of a charity of which Mr Barker had been a generous supporter, Mary Adelaide turned to him and said with a smile: ‘I must propose a special vote of thanks to Mr Barker, to whom we all owe so much’.

Coryne Hall, Hampshire.