Bamboo is an evergreen perennial flowering plant in the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. The word “bamboo” comes from the Dutch or Portuguese languages, which probably borrowed it from Malay. Bamboos are distributed in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions, with the heaviest concentration and largest number of species in East and Southeast Asia and on islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. A few species of the genus Arundinaria are native to the southern United States, where they form dense canebrakes along riverbanks and in marshy areas.
Dedicated in 1982 as 1st wilderness park developed inside city limits in U.S. Areas of forest have 60-ft.-tall bamboo with trunks 6 inches in diameter. Hundreds of varieties of plants, including one of Alabama’s largest beech trees.
Location: 800 Upper Kingston Road Prattville, Alabama
In this park, giant oriental bamboo soar 60 feet to form a canopy in the sky. The bamboo competes with native trees and shrubs to form this most unusual area, which also contains the State’s second largest Beech tree. The Spinners Club, a woman’s service organization, was instrumental in saving this area from sub-division several years ago.