The tall delicate bamboo remains always green in all weather.  The plant is praised for its elegant, unconventional beauty as well as its durability and resilience.  Because the bamboo never looses its leaves it has come to be known as a symbol for longevity. 

The bamboo, the pine and the plum often form a group known as the three friends.  The bamboo and the pine remain green all year, the plum blossoms in the winter.  The group of the three friends motif is said to be auspicious.