在印度洋西南部的马达加斯加,有一种竹子生命力十分强大。其种群分布相当广泛,只要温度适宜的地方,几乎都可生长。这种竹子每公顷在花期过后,种子可达50公斤,落在地面的种子厚达6英尺。但开花结子却大抵要等一百多年才有一次,我们世人一般很少人能见到它开花结子的。因此大多数人都认为竹子只是靠分根生笋的方式在繁衍。其实,这只是竹子生存的一种权宜之计。 In Madagascar in the southwest Indian Ocean, there is a kind of bamboo that is very viable. The distribution of its population is quite extensive, as long as the temperature is suitable for the place, almost all can grow. The hedgerows of this kind of bamboo can reach 50 kilos of seeds after flowering, and the seeds that fall on the ground are up to 6 feet thick. However, it is necessary to wait for more than a hundred years before the flowering knot. There are few people in our world who can see it blossom. Therefore, most people think that bamboo is only propagated by means of root-shooting. In fact, this is only an expedient measure for the survival of bamboo.