The unique Bamboo plant grows throughout the Western Ghats. Fascinatingly, there are different varieties of Bamboo that are grown here. These include the Yellow Bamboo, Hybrid Bamboo and the Small Bamboo. Bamboo, interestingly, is the main food for wild elephants in the Western Ghats, who are dependent on this plant for survival.

A Cluster of Bamboo Plants at Coorg

Surprisingly, the Bamboo plant only flowers once in 50 years! These flowers remain for an entire month. Amazingly, following this, they change into bamboo rice, which stays as long as three months. Astoundingly, bamboo rice is very expensive, costing a whopping Rs. 2000 per kg! It is exclusive as it can only be collected from certain tribes belonging to the Western Ghats, including the Jannukurbas, Kudias and Yaravas. This rice is known for its therapeutic properties, as it is good for treating hypertension, ulcers, sinusitis, severe cough and cold. Bamboo rice is thus highly in demand. After the rice appears, the bamboo plant dies. This reduces the source of food for elephants, which are then forced to go to different locations such as coffee plantations in the Western Ghats, in search of food.

The Base of a Bamboo Cluster

Shoots appear on the bamboo plant once each year. When young, bamboo shoots possess hydrocyanic acid, which is poisonous. Hence these shoots need to be washed thoroughly for 3-4 days continuously in fresh water before being used for cooking.

Tender bamboo shoots, interestingly, are used for making pickles and bamboo curry, which forms a sumptuous Kodava dish when eaten with ‘Kadamputtu’ (steamed rice balls). Therefore, if you decide to step into Orange County, Coorg during the months of May, June or July, you can look forward to this delectable dish!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 5:06 PM and is filed under Flora, Plantation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.