Citation
Why Bamboos Wait So Long to Flower
TL;DR
Bamboo flowering is synchronized across entire species populations (90-95% flower same year)
Janzen first proposed the 'predator satiation' hypothesis explaining why bamboo species flower synchronously on 40-120 year cycles. This counterintuitive strategy - where entire populations flower simultaneously regardless of individual conditions - demonstrates how population-level coordination can overwhelm predators that would otherwise consume all offspring.
The business parallel is significant: there may be times when synchronized industry-wide action (like IPO windows or acquisition waves) benefits all participants even if timing isn't optimal for any individual company.
Key Findings from Janzen (1976)
- Bamboo flowering is synchronized across entire species populations (90-95% flower same year)
- Synchronization is genetically controlled, not environmentally triggered
- Synchronized flowering overwhelms seed predators (rats, birds, insects)
- Staggered flowering would allow predators to consume 100% of seeds
- Synchronized flowering reduces predation to <5% of seeds
- Trade-off: Individual optimization sacrificed for population-level benefit