Depending on climate, light exposure and soil conditions it can grow around 1 metre (39 in.) over 24-hours.
In shorter periods of time growth rate exceeds 39 inches on a 24 hour basis.
Its life cycle is very short: the plant reaches its maximum girth and growth within a few months from its birth. In less than 20 years fungus and mould will develop on the culm, penetrate it and cause the collapse and death of the plant. The maximum strength of the culm happens to be between 3-7 years from its birth. This explains why bamboo has been such a common construction material: it takes a very short time to grow to its full potential.
Few know that another strange behaviour of bamboo is related to giant panda's near-exinction. Although most bamboo plants do flower every year a whole group of species will flower once or twice a century, the longer known interval being 130 years. The flowering happens for all the plants of a given specie regardless of climate or geological position.
Moreover, after that, each single plant dies.
Since bamboo is the only element of giant panda's diet the sudden death of whole clusters of bamboo forests is considered to have a role in their difficult condition.
