About ten years ago Melcanna baccifera, an important bamboo native to the Indian subcontinent, came into its 50 year flowering cycle here in Costa Rica. This is one of the very few bamboos to produce a large pulpy fruit.
To know more about this very useful and interesting plant, check out these links:
http://www.inbar.int/publication/txt/tr17/Melocanna/baccifera.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/plant-vs-predator.html
There is also a section dedicated to this elite bamboo in Floyd McClure's classic book "The Bamboos" including photos of houses made of this bamboo in every detail.
Melocanna, $25.
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