Are any Bamboo CAM (C4) like sugar cane and Arundo donax?

[Joseph Clemens]

Being curious, I am wondering if anyone has ever investigated this issue before. If they have, would they please add their input to this thread.

Thank you.

Earlier I had read somewhere that bamboo were C3, and I failed to question that information. foxd on another thread had heard conflicting information. Now my curiosity has begun to grow.

[BruceLofland]

I remember reading that recently too, so I was able to find the link:
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph31.htm#purslane

It does not cite a source for this info.

[Eastlandia]

Bamboo's are C3. (I think)... this means that they form the first molecules in the Calvin cylcle with three carbon bases.
C4 plants carbon bases of 4.
What does this mean?
With the C-3 Plants, it takes only 2 to create 1 gluecose molecule, which the plant can then use to make pyruvate, ATP, etc.
The C4 Plants need Three in order to make 2 gluecose molecules. With the increase in gluecose it makes since that many of these plants create excess sugars.
Examples of these are many crop plants, including Sugar Cane and Corn.
Is bamboo a crop plant? I dont believe so.

CAM plants are like cacti. These preform the Calvin cycle during the night. Most plants collect CO2 during the day, and then generate ATP during the night. I believe his is why Tropical Bamboo tends to grow more at night. CAM plants open up their "guard cells" which bring in CO2 and respire during the night.


-eastlandia

[Eastlandia]

http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/ ... BA55B019B2

Yep, Bamboo is C4

It makes since, Bamboo is a rather "young" species compared to time, and because of its excessive water movment, it needs more CO2, water and bottom line ATP to carry out its fast moving functions.
It makes since.

-Eastlandia

[Roy]

http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/ ... BA55B019B2

Yep, Bamboo is C4

It makes since, Bamboo is a rather "young" species compared to time, and because of its excessive water movment, it needs more CO2, water and bottom line ATP to carry out its fast moving functions.
It makes since.

-Eastlandia

"Since" you brought it up, I've always said that the tropical bamboos in Florida love the Florida Viagra Water and raise cane up to the sky.

[ocimum_nate]

I have generally thought of bamboo as a C4 type plant because of its metabolisim and growth. C4 plants tend to be heat loving. I just wondered if some of the Fargesia and Cusquea plants are C4 because of their lack of heat tolerance. C3 plants generally do not like heat and go through photorespiration when it warms up essentially burning up sugar reserves instead of storing them and perishing just trying to photosynthesize. This happens because oxygen molecules are used instead of carbon in photosynthesis.

[BruceLofland]

I found another link that says bamboo is a C3 plant: http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/155_SR/CHAP_25.PDF

[foxd]

I just wondered if some of the Fargesia and Cusquea plants are C4 because of their lack of heat tolerance.

I think you meant to write: "I just wondered if some of the Fargesia and Chusquea plants are C3 because of their lack of heat tolerance."

[BruceLofland]

Here is another on that says bamboo is a C4 plant: http://www.oprins.com/bamboonetwork/pub ... URE%20.pdf

All of these sources seem to be pretty confident of their assertion. None of these admit to any sort of scientific debate about whether bamboo is C3 or C4. So why is there conflicting information about this?

The C4 assertions seem to be coming from people that are experts in horticulture. The C3 assertions seem to be coming from botanists.

[ocimum_nate]

Thanks Foxd I did mean C3 I guess that is what happens when I get on the computer at 4 in the morning....

[foxd]

Thanks Foxd I did mean C3 I guess that is what happens when I get on the computer at 4 in the morning....

No problem, I can understand the feeling. The change to Daylight Stupid Time has me feeling really woozy.

[foxd]

I heard back from Wayne P. Armstrong:

Dear Daniel:

I should have placed a reference on my web page. One good
reference is Walters, D.R. and D.J. Keil. 1996. Vascular Plant
Taxonomy. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. They state that all
members of the grass tribes Bambuseae and Arundineae have C-3 photosynthesis.

Wayne

Hmmm...

[Joseph Clemens]

I found another link that says bamboo is a C3 plant: http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/155_SR/CHAP_25.PDF

So, apparently this author considers all bamboo as C3. Interesting, I wonder where the C4 hypothesis - data originates?

[Joseph Clemens]

Here is another on that says bamboo is a C4 plant: http://www.oprins.com/bamboonetwork/pub ... URE%20.pdf

All of these sources seem to be pretty confident of their assertion. None of these admit to any sort of scientific debate about whether bamboo is C3 or C4. So why is there conflicting information about this?

The C4 assertions seem to be coming from people that are experts in horticulture. The C3 assertions seem to be coming from botanists.

With the all too common, though erroneous assumption, that Arundo donax is bamboo (casting a little aspersion on some of my fellow horticulturists - I wonder if any of them consider sugar cane as bamboo). I wonder if this hasn't contributed to the creation of another "Urban Legend"? Or is bamboo C4? It can be frustrating trying to qualify a characteristic that is not too easily observed with the naked eye.

[Joseph Clemens]

As anecdotal evidence, besides many tropical and temperate bamboo, I also grow Arundo donax and Saccharum officinarum. The two named species, in the previous sentence are both reported to be C4, without any reports disputing this.

As soon as the days are warm, both these plants outgrow my bamboo, by at least, two to one, or they grow at least twice as fast. Perhaps this is why I became so interested in this topic once I had seen bamboo reported as C4. Personally, I can never have too much supporting or refuting evidence for any hypothesis.