Abstract
Variations in growth habits of Malayan bamboos are examined with reference to the influence of rhizome construction, culm characteristics and the mode of development of the branch complement. The relationship of growth habit to the invasive ecology of bamboos and several probable adaptations to survival in particular habitats are discussed. Of particular interest is the bamboo Dinochloa scandens, which primarily develops from a sympodial rhizome system that produces culms able to twine up the boles of trees. Culms of D. scandens that become recumbent on or near to the forest floor can develop, from their buds, new culms and new rhizomes. The form and behaviour of such recumbent culms are considered homologous to those of a monopodial rhizome, and comparisons between the two illustrate how the monopodial condition could have been derived from the sympodial condition in bamboo rhizomes. However, taxa with monopodial rhizomes may not always be considered as being more advanced than those with sympodial rhizomes.
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