ryanbir-
That's a good picture of a new shoot, but I can't say what it is. What are the characteristics of the mature plant? How tall are the culms? What diameter? What color? Is there a sulcus (groove) running between the nodes (rings) on the culm? It would also be helpful if you could post another picture or two showing some detail of the mature culms.

If you have collected seed, I suggest two things: 1) plant some immediately in a standard potting medium or soil, and 2) put some in a baggie and leave it in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for about 6 weeks, then plant it the same way. Some seed comes up fairly quickly -- like a week -- and some may take 6-9 months, depending on the species.

As for the effects of flowering, this typically results in the death of the mother plant, although it may take a couple of years. In addition, if you are successful in growing some seedlings, they may or may not have different characteristics from the mature bamboo that you have. For example, the culms could be identical, or could have different color or striping.

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There is no groove and no rings on the culms. They are about 10-12 ft tall and and thin, like a pencil or a little bigger. You can see in the pictures that thy are redish and have a white waxy look. Thanks for your help.

ryanbir-
I believe that is a Fargesia cultivar, a clumping bamboo. Fargesia nitida started flowering about 10 years ago on a worldwide basis. I had a couple of clumps and they died off over about a 3 year period. There are new F. nitida that have been produced as a result of the flowering and seed production. In addition, there are various cultivars such as "Gansu 2" And "Jiuzhaigou." I can't say for sure which one you have, but I think it's highly likely that it is a Fargesia nitida of some sort.

Thanks for your help. Do you know anything about how long these seeds may take to germinate?

I tried with some F. nitida seeds and they took a month to germinate (and only a few were viable). I also know a guy who owns a bamboo nursery, and his F. nitida seeds took 9 months. So...your mileage may vary!