Written by founder and CEO of ReNüTeq, Luke D. Schüette
A little more than 200 years ago, in 1822, the German botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) described Guadua as a genus unique and completely independent from the smaller, softer, and less rigid Asian Species known of by botanist of the period. Kunth used the indigenous word ‘angustifolia’ (narrow leaf), which was the name given to this bamboo among the native communities of Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
"Guadua Angustifolia Kunth" known for its larger diameter (6-7”) and thicker culm walls, (1-1.5”) and topping 70'-0" in height. Guadua is a tropical species of giant clumping timber bamboo native to Central and South America. Now 200 years later, it has been documented to be the strongest bamboo species in the world, and is the 3rd largest.
Prior to Kunth's Angustifolia classification, Guadua was a well known giant bamboo genus in the region:
The canyons or tacuaras are a genus of plants of the family of the poáceas. In the year 1806 it was described by Alexander von Humboldt and Amedeo Bonpland who saw this plant in Colombia and called it "Bambusa Guadua". It is considered as one of the most representative native plants of the Andean forests of Columbia and Ecuador.
The Guadua Angustifolia bamboo species is by far the most important structural grade bamboo in world, and is over 3 times stronger than the commonly known Asian flooring species: MOSO bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis).
Images of treated and dried Guadua - Harvested in Columbia South America.
Guadua is also much stronger (more than 2x stronger), and more durable than most Structural Grade Timbers in the US and Europe such as: Southern Yellow Pine, Douglas Fir, Larch, and Spruce.
USA and European companies that import bamboo products from Asia (Mainly China) are unable to market or claim that they distribute structural building products due to MOSO’s low strength, and low durability due to lower silica content and high levels of sugar at the cellular level. This is why MOSO bamboo is not accepted within USA and European Building Codes and regulations for structural applications.
MOSO and other Asian species of bamboo are although acceptable for flooring, cabinets, and other non-structural applications depending on age and production processes of the bamboo integrated, which is nearly impossible to manage in countries such as China.
Now, almost exactly 200 years after Carl Sigismund Kunth discovered Guadua, ReNüTeq led by by Founder & CEO Luke Schüette is manufacturing some of the most innovative and high performance structural products in the world in both the USA and in Europe.
Learn More About Guadua | SEB (Structural Engineered Bamboo): ReNüTeq's Structural Engineered Guadua Technology ..
ReNüTeq sources all of its Guadua Bamboo to produce its proprietary SEB (Structural Engineered Bamboo) from the Americas from old growth Guadua forests and from farms planted over degraded pasture lands, and Manufactures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Learn More...
Pictured Above: ReNüTeq's RadLam® (Radial Laminated Bamboo) our highest performance SEB (Structural Engineered Bamboo) Guadua Product.
Or contact us for structural grade products and architectural solutions: info@renuteq.com
