ISO 21625:2020

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 21625
First edition
2020-07
Vocabulary related to bamboo and
bamboo products
Vocabulaire relatif au bambou et aux produits en bambou
Reference number
©
ISO 2020
© ISO 2020
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ii © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 Terms for bamboo . 1
3.2 Terms for intermediate bamboo products . 2
3.3 Terms for bamboo products . 4
Bibliography . 9
Foreword
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 296, Bamboo and Rattan.
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iv © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Bamboo belongs to the subfamily Bambusoidae of the grass family (Gramineae/Poaceae). There are
nearly 1 642 bamboo species, including 1 521 woody bamboos, distributed naturally in tropical and
warm temperate areas. There are 3 tribes of bamboos, which are Arundinarieae (32 genus); Bambuseae
tribe (69 genus); and herb-bamboo dominated by Olyreae tribe (22 genus) . Depending on the species
and growing location, most bamboo species can grow rapidly up to 1,2 m per day .
The current utilization of bamboo worldwide is varying from construction to human’s various
necessities, i.e. handicraft, musical instruments, kitchen utensils, fibre-based products (i.e. textile,
shoes, etc.), medicinal treatment, food, etc. Due to increasing bamboo utilization for daily life,
harmonization of the terms used is required in order to minimize confusion or conflicts and attain
universal understanding.
The terms and descriptions contained in this International Standard have been mainly constituted
to represent internationally recognized terms applied to bamboo and bamboo products (semi/
intermediate and final). The descriptions of the terms are created for general understanding by the
bamboo experts, industry, consumers and other stakeholders.
The sources used during this International Standard development have been the most recent
scientific documents and/or standards (international, regional or domestic), either published or under
development. Descriptions sourced from standards are worded as closely as possible to that appearing
in the standards. However, where necessary modifications have been made for several descriptions
following review between standards, a note appears after the term expressing the adaptation of its
description from the standards.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 21625:2020(E)
Vocabulary related to bamboo and bamboo products
1 Scope
This document defines terms related to bamboo, intermediate bamboo and bamboo products.
This document is applicable to bamboo, intermediate bamboo and bamboo products in production
and trade.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1 Terms for bamboo
3.1.1
bamboo
tropical, semitropical or temperate fast-growing grass with lignocellulose matrix and usually having
hollow culms
Note 1 to entry: Grasses classified within the subfamily Bambusoideae, including the temperate woody bamboos
(Arundinarieae), tropical woody bamboos (Bambuseae), and herbaceous bamboos (Olyreae).
3.1.2
bamboo culm
single shoot of bamboo (3.1.1) comprised of the entire unaltered bamboo cross-section, which is usually
a hollow cylinder, except at bamboo nodes (3.1.7)
[SOURCE: ISO 22157:2019, 3.1]
3.1.3
bamboo outer layer
hard, compact sheath of bamboo culm (3.1.2) which is exposed to the external environment
3.1.4
bamboo inner layer
soft inside layer of the bamboo culm (3.1.2), serving as boundary to the hollow central portion of the culm
3.1.5
bamboo culm wall
solid part of bamboo culm (3.1.2)
3.1.6
bamboo internode
usually hollow region of bamboo culm (3.1.2) between two nodes (3.1.7) at which diameter and wall
thickness are defined
[SOURCE: ISO 19624:2018, 3.9, modified — The word "bamboo" has been added in the term.]
3.1.7
bamboo node
transverse diaphragm (3.1.8) region located along the length of the bamboo culm (3.1.2) separating
adjacent internodes (3.1.6), which, when alive, is a location of leaf growth
[SOURCE: ISO 22157:2019, 3.11, modified — The word "bamboo" has been added in the term and the
word "intermittent" has been removed from definition.]
3.1.8
bamboo diaphragm
hard, rigid inner plate inside the bamboo node (3.1.7)
3.1.9
bamboo rhizome
underground, segmented part of bamboo from which the bamboo shoot (3.1.12) emerges
3.1.10
bamboo culm sheath
usually large, overlapping metamorphosed leaves, borne singly at each node of the culm proper and
protect/cover the emerging new shoot/branch in bamboo (3.1.1)
3.1.11
bamboo foliage leaves
usually photosynthetic organ of a plant characterized by a sheath and a blade that emerges from the
branches
3.1.12
bamboo shoot
young sprout produced by the rhizome of a bamboo (3.1.1)
3.1.13
bamboo clump
clump
cluster of bamboo shoots (3.1.12) emanating from two or more rhizomes at the same location
[SOURCE: ISO 22157:2019, 3.2]
3.1.14
bamboo plantation
land area in which bamboo (3.1.1) is planted and managed
3.1.15
green bamboo
fresh bamboo culm (3.1.2) with high moisture content (usually more than 30 %) which has not
undergone any treatment
3.2 Terms for intermediate bamboo products
3.2.1
bamboo culm section
certain length of bamboo culm (3.1.2) obtained by cross cutting
2 © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved

3.2.2
bamboo split
bamboo piece with outer (3.1.3) and inner layers (3.1.4) remained, made by a longitudinal cut of a
bamboo culm (3.1.2) section
3.2.3
bamboo strip
long, thin and flat bamboo piece with rectangular cross section, processed from bamboo split (3.2.2)
and with the outer (3.1.3) and inner layers (3.1.4) removed
3.2.4
bamboo sliver
long, thin, and narrow piece cut from bamboo strip (3.2.3) or split (3.2.2)
3.2.5
flattened bamboo
piece of bamboo culm (3.1.2) pressed to level the surface
3.2.6
bamboo interlaced mat
mat made of woven bamboo slivers (3.2.4), used for walls, cei
...