CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Two fossils dating back 25 million years were found in Makum coalfield in Assam. Spread from India: This finding strengthens the theory that bamboo spread to Asia from India and not from Europe.

Detailed explanation-2: -More than 50% of the bamboo species occur in Eastern India- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal. Other areas rich in bamboo are the A & N Islands, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and the Western Ghats.

Detailed explanation-3: -Bambusa tulda is also known as the Indian timber bamboo and the Bengal bamboo. It is considered to be one of the most species of bamboo.

Detailed explanation-4: -There are no exclusive bamboo forest in the plains of Assam, bamboo grooves are found mostly along the edge of Reserve Forests. But pure bamboo forests occur in N.C Hills and Karbi Anglong districts predominated with Melocanna baccifera and Chimnobambusa griffithiana.

Detailed explanation-5: -Summary: A recent examination revealed that Chusquea oxyphylla, a fossilized leafy branch from the early Eocene in Patagonia, which has been widely cited as the oldest bamboo fossil and as evidence for a Gondwanan origin of bamboos is actually a conifer.