FUKUOKA, Apr 28 (News On Japan) –
In a uncommon botanical occasion, a photographer in Fukuoka captured the blossoming of bamboo flowers, a phenomenon stated to happen solely as soon as each 120 years.
The tranquil residential space of Sawara Ward in Fukuoka grew to become the main focus of this uncommon incidence. “I have never seen anything like it before,” stated the photographer, who found what seemed like fluffy rice panicles rising from the bamboo nodes. The bamboo, a species generally known as black bamboo, was planted 18 years in the past and has by no means exhibited such traits till now.
“I thought they were insect eggs,” the photographer admitted, referring to the peculiar formations. Suspecting they is perhaps one thing else, he determined to take the mysterious specimens to a botanical backyard for professional evaluation.
“Ah, I see, they are indeed blooming. These are black bamboo flowers. They resemble rice flowers, don’t they? They are definitely flowers,” defined Futamata Tokuko, a flower and greenery consultancy professional. She confirmed that bamboo, belonging to the grass household, blooms in a way much like rice.
Further insights had been offered by Futamata, who famous, “This black bamboo is a type of ‘hachiku’, and a mass flowering of hachiku species has begun. It was predicted that a mass flowering could occur around the 30th year of the Heisei era, about 120 years since the last one.”
This marks a major blooming interval for black bamboo, the primary because the Meiji period, in response to the Forestry Research Institute. When requested why bamboo undergoes such a change each 120 years, researcher Kobayashi Keito admitted, “That’s the real charm and mystery of bamboo. Hopefully, our research can clarify this phenomenon.”
Source: TBS