Parts of a Bamboo Plant – Labeled Diagram and Quiz

All 11 parts on the diagram

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The whole plant 9

Culm The upright stem of a bamboo, also called a cane. It comes out of the ground at its full width and never gets thicker.
Node A node is the joint between two sections of the culm. The branches grow from the nodes.
Internode An internode is the section of culm between two nodes. In bamboo it is hollow.
Culm sheath It covers and protects a young culm as it comes up. It falls off as the culm grows.
Leafy branches Thin branches grow out from the nodes of the culm. They carry the leaves.
Leaves The leaves grow on the branches.
New shoot A culm at the start of its growth, still wrapped in sheaths. It grows to its full height in its first year.
Rhizome A rhizome is a stem that grows sideways underground. The culms and the roots grow from it.
Roots The roots grow down from the rhizome.

Running and clumping 2

Running rhizome It spreads far under the ground and sends up culms well apart. Its other name is leptomorph.
Clumping rhizome A clumping rhizome is short. Each one turns up into a culm close to the last, so the plant stays in a tight clump. Its other name is pachymorph.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 against sources read that day. (1) University of Georgia Extension, Bulletin 1357, Growing Bamboo in Georgia, https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1357 (glossary: culm, culm sheath, internode, node, rhizome, shoot, clumping and running types). (2) University of Maryland Extension, Containing and Removing Bamboo, https://extension.umd.edu/resource/containing-and-removing-bamboo (culms, rhizomes, nodes, internodes, sheaths, leafy branches, roots; pachymorph clumping and leptomorph running rhizomes; bamboo as a large grass). (3) Wikipedia, Bamboo, text only (culms, hollow internodes, branches from the nodes, new shoots, running and clumping growth with long and short rhizomes). (4) North Carolina State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Phyllostachys aurea, https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/phyllostachys-aurea/ (culms, nodes, internodes, leaves). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

The top drawing shows the parts of a bamboo above and below the ground: a grown culm, a young one in its sheaths, a new shoot, and the rhizome they grow from. The bottom drawing sets the two kinds of rhizome side by side.

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Up the culm, then down to the rhizome

Numbers 1 to 3 are on the tall stem: the culm, a node and an internode. Number 4 is the culm sheath on the young culm. Numbers 5 and 6 are the leafy branches and the leaves. Number 7 is a new shoot. Numbers 8 and 9 are under the soil: the rhizome and its roots. Numbers 10 and 11 are the two kinds of rhizome, running and clumping.

Running or clumping? Look at how far apart the culms stand. Far apart on a long rhizome is running; close together is clumping.
A culm comes out of the ground at its full width. It grows taller in its first year but never gets thicker.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a bamboo plant?

Above the ground: the culm, which is the jointed stem, with its nodes and internodes, the culm sheaths on young culms, the leafy branches and the leaves. Below the ground: the rhizome and the roots. New shoots come up from the rhizome.

What is the stem of a bamboo called?

A culm, or a cane. It is divided into sections: each joint is a node, and each hollow stretch between two joints is an internode.

What is the difference between running and clumping bamboo?

The rhizome. A running bamboo has long rhizomes that spread far and send up culms well apart. A clumping bamboo has short rhizomes, so its culms stand close together and the plant spreads slowly.

Is bamboo a tree or a grass?

A grass. Bamboo belongs to the grass family, even though its culms are tall and hard like wood.