It grows in North America; probably as an ornamental only. My neighbor had bamboo plants when I was a kid. We used to make our pot pipes out of it in high school The one outstanding characteristic of bamboo is "fiberous"; it makes it a hassle to crosscut/work the endgrain. The green outer skin scratches easily too so you would want to precoat over any green you wanted to preserve before you started building. I don't know how well it sands either. Then there are the little notches every 12" or so. It is extremely sturdy though. I would play around with it before starting anything major.