There is only one species of bamboo indigenous to the Territory. This was growing by Mary River and was about to flower. The bamboo only flowers after long periods eg. twenty eight years. All plants in an area synchronise with the flowering. They drop their seeds and then all the plants in that area die. The flowering seems to be in waves across different areas.

What purpose should this serve?
The seedlings are light dependant. With all the plants dying at once, canopy gaps would be provided to enhance their contact with light. The flowering is driven by a biological clock, but it is not a simple clock. Do temperature fluctuations contribute? If there are miscounts, the flowering would be permanently out of sync with other groups.

Contibuted by Val Hocking