Imposters
Masquerading or misidentified as bamboos are many imposters with either narrow leaves or strongly segmented stems that are certainly not in the tribe of woody bamboos, and often not even grasses at all. These may be fine plants in their own right, but many people have been disappointed to find that they do not really have a bamboo at all. Such confusion often arises from use of local or trade names without a full scientific name. There is also a wish to sell plants with the attractive characteristics of bamboos for use as houseplants. Proper bamboos are often less easy to grow indoors than the more common houseplants, and they are also much harder to propagate in large quantities, and so more expensive to produce. Further information on some of these can be found at the links below. Note that Lucky Bamboo may cause an allergic skin reaction.
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