ໄມ້ປ່ອງ / Bamboo

Bamboos include all plants in the grass family Poaceae subfamily Bambusoideae, a single evolutionary radiation of 1,642 species, including 1,521 woody bamboos. Bamboos can be woody or herbaceous, with considerable variability in habit. They occupy a broad range of environments across the world, largely in tropical to warm temperate ecosystems, with some diversity in cold temperate regions. For species classification and distribution recording bamboos present a particularly challenging scientific problem. Superficial similarity between different species in the vegetative state and the common lack of flowering material mean that identification and systematics of bamboos are difficult areas that need dedicated specialists with many years of experience. Bamboo classification is currently in flux and extensive future
research is necessary. This checklist seeks to present the current state of global knowledge as updated by recent research data (Vorontsova et al., 2016).

Taxonomic studies were conducted on bamboo species in Laos from 1992-1994 supported by the International Development Research Centre. So far, a total of 52 species from 15 genera have been documented from different forest types all over the country. The mountainous northern part of Laos is one of the richest areas for bamboo. Surveys show it holds at least 50 species, and in Xieng Khouang and Houaphan provinces there are 30 which differ from those in central and southern Laos.