Pearson - 1988 Bamboo November 14- At Llao Llao on the little side trail where Anita has some marked culms, we picked two long branchlets from one clump; one of them had 40 leaves and leaf scars, the other 42. At 2 leaves per year this makes 20 yrs; at 3 leaves per year it makes 14 years. One culm from which we had removed all the branchlets at one node had not replaced any of them. Another culm cut off at about 1 m was dying back from the top; two internodes were dry, but lower internodes still green. Concerning light-meter readings of the incident light at bamboo culms: In a previous year I had calculated that the plastic curtain on the meter cut down light 6-fold, and I used the curtain occasionally for the sky reading because it was too bright without the curtain. There is evidence that 6X is not appropriate, however, in all circumstances. Here are some test data: reduction with curtain Bright white wall (much brighter than clear sky) 6.1 X Blue sky 8.3 X Blue sky again 8.2 X Green fence in sun 7.7 X Shaded wall 11.5 X November 17- At La Veranada, clear blue sky, the sky reading on exposure meter at f8 ASA 100 was 1/100th second; the reading with curtain closed and meter pointed at bright sun was 1/240. A quick test of the reading on deep blue sky and sky with backlit nire leaves showed same reading. To the eye, the nire leaves look brighter, so bamboo under a single layer of leaves might be getting more light than "unshaded" bamboo (excluding direct sun, of course). Found a blooming bamboo at La Veranada. Sort of half-baked blooming, leaves not all dead, etc. A branchlet from one clump near our original marked clump was 160mm long and had 28 leaves and leaf scars. Another only 70mm long had 18 leaves and scars. November 18- Talked with Juan Chihuay who lives at 659 Elordi St., whose nephew Roberto runs one of the Hosterias at Pampa Linda. Juan was in the army at the time and remembers the blooming of thge bamboo on the Llao Llao peninsula in 1939. seemed quite sure of the date. It bloomed over the whole peninsula, and it all bloomed and died in the one year. He said that the seeds were produced in April-May and that there was an outbreak of rodents the next year. The rodents were smaller than water rats (Rattus) and had mediumm-long tails. He drew a good representation of an inflorescence and said that the seeds were like birdseed. He said that later (the next year?) it bloomed across the lake near Villa Angostura and the dead mice floated across the lake onto the shore on this side. When I said that Don Diego Neil said that it bloomed at Lago Puelo about 1940, he