Bamboo in space?

Bamboo is light and strong, and it grows well in poor soils and under
marginal sunlight. I wonder if it could grow in microgravity? If so, and
its structural characteristics were preserved, it might make a construction
material of interest for use in free fall.

Other virtues include the fact that reasonable diameter stalks can be cut
with a simple blade: no sawdust. No finishing is required. About a billion
housewares can be made from it. It's even edible.

I wonder if we can get a few shoots up to ISS for a microgravity growth
test...


Jim McCauley