As in other bamboos, the culm tissue of
G. angustifolia is made up of: cortex (epidermis,
hypodermis & cortical parenchyma), parenchyma
cells, fiber, and vascular bundles, which in
turn are made up of sclerenchyma cells, vessels
(metaxylem, phloem and protoxylem) and sieve
tubes with companion cells (Fig. 1). According
to Liese (1998) the composition of the culm is (on
average) 52% parenchyma tissue, 40% fiber and
8% conducting cells. These values vary among
species. In G. angustifolia, the composition is
51% parenchyma tissue, 40% fiber and 9%
conducting cells. (Table 1). Compared to other
tropical and subtropical bamboo, G. angustifolia
exhibits a typical percentage of fibers.