Bamboo, subfamily of tall treelike grasses of the family Poaceae, comprising more than 115 genera and 1,400 species. Bamboos are distributed in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions, with the heaviest concentration and largest number of species in East and Southeast Asia and on islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. A few species of the genus Arundinaria are native to the southern United States, where they form dense canebrakes along riverbanks and in marshy areas.

Bamboos are typically fast-growing perennials, with some species growing as much as 30 cm (1 foot) per day. The woody ringed stems, known as culms, are typically hollow between the rings (nodes) and grow in branching clusters from a thick rhizome (underground stem). Bamboo culms can attain heights ranging from 10 to 15 cm (about 4 to 6 inches) in the smallest species to more than 40 metres (about 130 feet) in the largest. While the narrow leaves on young culms usually arise directly from the stem rings , mature culms often sprout horizontal leaf-bearing branches. Most bamboos flower and produce seeds only after 12�120 years� growth, and then only once in their lifetime; reproduction is largely vegetative. Some species spread aggressively and can form a dense undergrowth that excludes other plants.

The widespread use of bamboo musical instruments in practically all parts of Southeast Asia points to the antiquity of these instruments and, probably, that of the music they play. A historical citation of mouth organs and jew�s harps in the Chinese Shijing (�Classic of Poetry�) shows that these instruments were known in the 8th century bce. Prior to this time, other bamboo musical instruments were probably in use, just as bamboo tools were used in pre-Neolithic times.