Bamboo palm is a well-known ornamental plant. Many people describe it as follows: "The beauty of bamboo palm lies in its leaves, which are like a piece of soft and graceful green cloud..." In fact, what we see of bamboo palm is not its leaves, but its stems and branches. The lowest, central, and thickest part of bamboo palm is its main stem. Above the main stem, thinner branches are divided, and then even smaller branches are divided. The smallest branches are almost as thin as a strand of hair. Many branches of different sizes gathered together look like beautiful, swaying leaves.
Since all parts of bamboo palm are stems, where are its leaves? It turns out that the leaves of bamboo palm have degenerated into small white scales, only the size of a sesame seed, a bit like the dandruff that falls when combing hair. There is one in each cluster of fine branches, which is almost invisible if you're not paying attention. Since the leaves of bamboo palm have lost their green color and do not contain chlorophyll, they naturally lose the function of photosynthesis. However, there is chlorophyll in the stems and branches of bamboo palm, so bamboo palm relies on its green stems to carry out photosynthesis.