The American Bamboo Society (ABS) was formed in 1979 and became incorporated in the state of California in 1981. Today we have over 1,300 members living throughout the U.S. and in 39 other countries. The ABS issues a bimonthly magazine, BAMBOO, and the Journal of the American Bamboo Society, which is issued irregularly.
We sponsor lectures, conferences, tours and plant sales in the chapter areas. Chapters maintain bamboo libraries, distribute publications and donate plants to public gardens.
Although bamboo seed is rare, we distribute seed to members when it is available. Chapters operate quarantine greenhouses for newly imported bamboo species at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, CA; at the San Francisco Zoo in California, at Broward Community College near Miami, FL and in Rockport, MA. Since 1980, the ABS has successfully introduced many new species of bamboo to the U.S.
We are a member of the World Bamboo Organization, an association of bamboo societies throughout the world, which sponsors an international bamboo conference every four years.
The ABS bylaws are available for downloading. It is an Adobe Reader PDF file.
The objectives and purposes of the Society are:
You may contact the board of directors if you have a suggestion or a question about the functioning of the society. Please contact the board member who represents your chapter, or if your chapter does not have a board representative, any of the at-large members.
| Name | Representing | Term Expires |
|---|---|---|
| At Large | 11/09 | |
| At Large | 11/09 | |
| At Large | 11/08 | |
| International Rep | 11/09 | |
| Florida-Caribbean Chapter | 11/09 | |
| Hawaii Chapter | 11/08 | |
| (vacant position) | Louisiana-Gulf Coast Chapter | |
| Daniel Fox | Mid-States Chapter | 11/08 |
| Northeast Chapter | 11/08 | |
| Northern California Chapter | 11/08 | |
| Oregon Chapter | 11/09 | |
| Pacific Northwest Chapter | 11/09 | |
| Southeast Chapter | 11/09 | |
| Southern California Chapter | 11/10 | |
| Texas Bamboo Society | 11/09 |
| Position | Person | Representing |
|---|---|---|
| President | ||
| Vice President | At Large | |
| Treasurer | Southeast Chapter | |
| Secretary | Northern California Chapter |
| Position | Person | Representing |
|---|---|---|
| Journal Editor | (Belgium) | |
| Magazine Publisher | Northeast Chapter | |
| Magazine Editor | Southern and Northern California Chapters | |
| Arts & Crafts Coordinator | ||
| Web Site Editor | Pacific Northwest Chapter | |
| Administrator | (vacant position) |
Note: some of the chapter Web sites are maintained separately from this, the official ABS Web site, and the ABS is not responsible for the content of those sites.
Membership in the American Bamboo Society and one ABS chapter is for the calendar year and includes a subscription to the bimonthly Magazine and annual Journal.
If you have specific questions about membership or renewal that are not answered here, please write to:
American Bamboo Society| Membership category† |
Annual
membership fee |
|---|---|
| Individual (NA) (joint) |
US$40.00 |
| Three-years (NA) (joint) |
US$110.00 |
| National membership from outside the U.S.A. (ABS) |
US$40.00 |
| Patron (NA) (Joint) |
US$120.00 |
| Supporting (NA) (joint) |
US$60.00 |
| Additional local chapter memberships | US$15.00 |
| National Life membership (ABS only) (Some chapters also offer life memberships) |
US$600.00 |
†Membership category note:
You may use either the on-line membership form if you are paying by credit card or print a PDF form you can fill-in. Send applications to:
American Bamboo SocietyIn December, 2007 we'll start putting together the 2008 ABS Species Source List. Please check back here or look for a notice on the News page for information about submissions for the 2008 list.
To order paper copies of the Species Source List, please contact:
American Bamboo SocietyPlease send $3 ($2 for the Source List, $1 for postage and handling).
The editors of our magazine, BAMBOO, are . It is published bi-monthly and information about advertising is below. Please write to the address below for information about submitting material for publication and for any other information that is not covered here.
The deadline for each magazine is the 1st of the month previous to the publication date. So, for an October edition, the deadline is the first of September, for the December edition, it is the first of November, and so on.
For those of you interested in writing for the ABS Magazine, please look at the ABS Authors’ Specifications Sheet and the ABS Authors’ Guidelines. They are both Adobe PDF files. You can get the free Adobe Reader here.
The postal address to use to submit printed materials is:
Don and Betty Shor, EditorsTeasers! We have samples from some of some past issues.
Bamboo Science and Culture is the official journal of the American Bamboo Society. It is the continuation of The Journal of the American Bamboo Society, a journal with a long tradition of publishing scientific and cultural articles on all aspects of bamboo.
Bamboo Science and Culture is the premier journal for bamboo systematics, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, geography, anatomy, history, physiology, agriculture, pathology, morphology and any other scholarly works dealing directly with bamboo.
Bamboo Science and Culture is a peer-reviewed journal of the highest caliber.
We have a write-up of author’s guidelines for material to be published in the Journal.
Almost all of the back volumes are available on-line for you to download and read. They are in PDF format and you will need Adobe Reader to view them.
The ABS Journal Editor is:
There are three ABS publications which accept advertising. All three are distributed to all ABS members.
The cost for the various sizes and types of advertising is described in the Advertising Guide (you'll need the Adobe Reader).
Acknowledging the increased interest in the use of bamboo in the creative fields of arts, crafts and construction, the American Bamboo Society compiles a Resource List which is also available without cost to anyone who requests it.
The List will be expanded upon, edited, and re-evaluated at regular intervals by with the help of Beverly Messenger (whose specialties are poetry and music) and other ABS volunteers.
This list is evolving and does not claim to be exhaustive. At no time will the American Bamboo Society be held responsible for the products and/or services resulting from use of this list, which is provided as a service to those interested in bamboo.
For information on how to be included in the Resource List, contact:
As of December 2006, the following categories are included: