International Journal of Economic Plants 2019, 6(1):030-039 Review Article Doi: HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.23910/IJEP/2019.6.1.0288 Status of Bamboo in India Salil Tewari1*, Harshita Negi1 and R. Kaushal2 1Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttrakhand (263 145), India 2ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttrakhand (248 195), India Corresponding Author Article History Salil Tewari Article ID: IJEP0288 e-mail:
[email protected] Received in 15th February, 2019 Received in revised form 21st February, 2019 Accepted in final form 24th February, 2019 Abstract Bamboos are very important forest resources found in the forest as well as the non-forest area in the country. The total bamboo bearing area of India is estimated to be 15.69 million hectares. Endemism in Indian bamboos is of a very high order. The maximum concentration of species is found in the deciduous and semi-evergreen regions of North-east and the tropical moist deciduous forests of North and South India. The North-eastern hilly States of India harbor nearly 90 species of bamboos, 41 of which are endemic to that region. There are 3 large genera (Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, and Ochlandra) of bamboos in India with more than 10 species each. Together, these three genera represent about 45% of the total bamboo species found in India. On the other hand, there are some genera which are represented by only one species each e.g. Ampelocalamus, Sarocalamus, Chimonobambusa, Pseudostachyum and Stapletonia. Bamboos in India show a great diversity in both their habitat and habit of growth.