Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Arundinaria gigantea
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may enjoy reading Identifying Native Bamboos by Margaret C. Cirtain.
or North American Bamboo: River, Switch & Hill Cane from George Ellison and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Arundinaria from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Arundinaria gigantea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Hill cane (Arundinaria appalachiana), a new species of bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from the Southern Appalachian Mountains (Triplett, Clark, & Weakley, 2006)
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Synthesis of the North American Flora (Kartesz, 1999)
Arundinaria gigantea ssp. gigantea
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-01-001:
Arundinaria gigantea FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arundinaria gigantea
COMMON NAME:
River Cane, Giant Cane
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_argi_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_argi_003_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_argi_004_lvd
)
Margaret Cirtain mcc_060517dahomey050b
May
Its flowering and subsequent death reported to be at 30-40 year intervals, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm0406m_32
June Greenville County SC
Bristles 6-9mm long on both sides of the throat, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
Gill Newberry gn09_arundinaria
September
Leaves grass-like, lanceolate, base rounded, tip long-tapering, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0210c_21
October Greenville County SC
The genus Arundinaria is our only native member of the bamboo tribe, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm0210d_02
October Greenville County SC
Upright, woody grass 3-6' tall (possibly reaching 30' tall), per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm071231_010
December McCormick County SC
Our "canebrakes," large areas covered by dense stands of cane, are mostly gone.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Arundinaria gigantea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Arundinaria gigantea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Hill cane (Arundinaria appalachiana), a new species of bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from the Southern Appalachian Mountains (Triplett, Clark, & Weakley, 2006)
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Synthesis of the North American Flora (Kartesz, 1999)
Arundinaria gigantea ssp. gigantea
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-01-001:
Arundinaria gigantea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Arundinaria gigantea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arundinaria gigantea
129
Grass, Sedge, or Rush; Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Bottomland and riparian forests, lower slopes and bluffs along streams, seeps, stream banks, and extending into less mesic and even dry settings on circumneutral or alkaline soils over limestone or dolomite, or in loess deposits along the Mississippi River, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Carolina Piedmont, rare in SC Coastal Plain)
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Grain Brown
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p402
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p208
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p303
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p027
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p190
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p051
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p03
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p273
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p065