In order to share this photo, I did a little research on the “Lucky Bamboo” sitting there on my genuine bamboo stool, which we shipped home from Japan fifty years ago. I found the plant is a fake, not related to genuine bamboo at all! It’s actually dracaena sanderiana, a houseplant that can grow in soil or water. (I wondered why I couldn’t find any dirt under the pebbles and water in my plant’s pot.)

Now, it turns out that it’s lucky I accidentally bought the houseplant because I’ve just learned there’s lots to love about real bamboo and one BIG thing to hate, at least in certain situations.

First, what’s to love? Genuine bamboo, which is actually a species of grass is extremely fast-growing, flexible, and stronger than steel by weight. It can be used to make flooring, fences, giant scaffolds for constructing buildings, hundreds of utensils, even fabric. If a bamboo forest is harvested, the plants grow back in just a few years. Bamboo can be woven into lovely artwork, and the shoots (when treated) are edible, as we know from eating in Asian restaurants.  A breeze blowing through bamboo causes a lovely clacking sound. Bamboo is so useful and beautiful, it is sometimes called a “miracle” plant, bringing to mind our Intelligent Designer.

Now, why can bamboo be abhorred? There are two general types of bamboo: runners and clumpers. Runners are the villains in city yards. There’s a saying: “The first year, bamboo sleeps; the second year, it creeps; the third year, it leaps.” The plant appears docile for the first two years, but its devious root system is expanding underground like crazy. The third year, sprouts may pop up several feet away from the original plant and may wreak havoc in neighbors’ yards too. The clumping type is much more manageable, but the runners are often sold in nurseries—buyer beware.

That said, the deep admiration people feel for bamboo in Asia, where it grows abundantly, can be seen not only in the evergreen bamboo groves cultivated in parks and temple grounds, but also in paintings, folktales, and proverbs. A Japanese proverb says, “The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” This truth can be seen in martial arts when the master bends with his opponent’s attack and then utilizes the opponent’s strength.

Bamboo figures in my first book in one scene. Sumi, who is irrepressibly curious, hides behind a clump of bamboo to spy out a romantic couple. She is shocked to see lips touch in a Western-style kiss. Before she can discreetly move away, she observes a crude man strolling past with the scholar her grandfather wants her to marry. This discovery causes Sumi to take a big risk—one she later greatly regrets.

Have you owned a “lucky bamboo” houseplant or had a grove of real bamboo in your yard? I’d love for you to share any experiences you’ve had with bamboo.