In News
- Recently, a study spanning 13 years has given information about flowering in Melocanna baccifera.
- Melocanna baccifera flowers almost fully synchronically every 48 years.
Outcomes of the recent study
- Bamboo death and Rat floods
- It has long fascinated researchers for its association with the occurrence of bamboo death, rat floods and famines in northeast India.
- It is called ‘Muli’ in northeast India.
- Population boom in rats
- Researchers detected a correlation between the sugar content in the fruit of Melocanna baccifera and the frenzied feeding and population boom in rats during ‘Mautam’, the cyclical, mass bamboo flowering that occurs once in 48 years.
About Melocanna Baccifera
- It is one of two bamboo species belonging to the Melocanna genus.
- It is the largest fruit-producing bamboo.
- It grows up to 10–25 m tall.
- It is native to Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, and Thailand.
- It is an invasive species that can occupy large areas due to its long and vigorous rhizomes and, in flowering, for its fruits that are easy to germinate.
Source: TH
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