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First new bamboo species in 200 years discovered in U.S. mongabay.com March 13, 2007
Globally there are 1,400 known species of bamboo, of which 900 are found in the tropics. The two other U.S. species, River cane and Switch cane, are widely distributed. "Most people have no idea that we have native bamboo in the U.S.," said Lynn Clark, the Iowa State professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology who helped described the species. "But it has been a very important plant ecologically. And there's recent interest in using it for re-vegetation projects because it's native and was used for habitat by so many different animals, especially birds."
"It's so exciting to find a new species in our own backyard!" she said. Jimmy Triplett, an Iowa State Ph.D. student, and Alan Weakley, a botanist at the University of North Carolina, contributed to the effort. It was Weakley who first spotted the species in the Appalachians. This article uses quotes from an Iowa State news release. Comments? News options
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