You can watch tortoise‑shell bamboo grow before your eyes.
Rising Giant
The sun shines down on a bamboo plant. It’s about a meter (3 feet) tall. By sunset, this plant will be 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall! It is the tortoise‑shell bamboo. It’s the fastest growing plant on Earth. It grows so fast, you can watch it grow.
The bamboo is another example of a plant that goes to extremes. Killer seeds, leaves that trap prey, and flowers that smell bad are just a handful of ways plants go to extremes to survive.