Arundinaria

Arundinaria
Arundinaria tecta
northern Florida in March 2003
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Bambusoideae
Tribe: Arundinarieae
Subtribe: Arundinariinae
Genus: Arundinaria
Michx.
Synonyms
  • Ludolfia Willd. 1808, illegitimate homonym not Adans. 1763 (Aizoaceae)
  • Macronax Raf.
  • Miegia Pers. 1805, illegitimate homonym not Schreb. 1791 (Cyperaceae)
  • Triglossum Fisch.

Arundinaria is a genus of bamboo in the grass family the members of which are referred to generally as cane.[1][2] Arundinaria is the only bamboo native to North America, with a native range from Maryland south to Florida and west to the southern Ohio Valley and Texas.[3][4] Within this region Arundinaria canes are found from the Coastal Plain to medium elevations in the Appalachian Mountains.

Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, cane was an important resource for Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Early European explorers in the U.S. described vast monotypic stands of Arundinaria that were common in river lowlands and covered hundreds of thousands of hectares. In the modern era, Arundinaria canebrakes are small and isolated, but there has been interest in restoring them due to the cultural and ecological importance of the plant.[5] Canebrakes provided land for crops, habitat for wild game, and year-round forage for livestock. The cane itself was used for construction, weapons, jewelry, medicines, fuel, and food. Canebrakes declined significantly after colonization due to clearing, farming and fire suppression.[6][7][8]

Grouping of Arundinaria gigantea at Cane Ridge Meeting House in Kentucky, USA
  1. ^ Michaux, André (1803). Flora boreali-americana :sistens caracteres plantarum quas in America septentrionali collegit et detexit Andreas Michaux. Vol. 1. Parisiis et Argentorati: apud fratres Levrault.
  2. ^ "Tropicos". www.tropicos.org. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  3. ^ University, Utah State. "Herbarium". www.usu.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. ^ "2013 BONAP North American Plant Atlas. TaxonMaps". bonap.net. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  5. ^ Barret, Richard; Grabowski, Janet; Williams, M.J. "Giant Cane and Other Native Bamboos: Establishment and Use for Conservation of Natural Resources in the Southeast" (PDF). ncrs.usda.gov. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  6. ^ Clark, Lynn G.; Triplett, J.K. (2006), "Arundinaria", Flora of North America, vol. 25, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, archived from the original on 2010-06-26, retrieved 2007-07-14
  7. ^ Triplett, J.K.; Weakley, A.S.; Clark, L.G. (2006), "Hill cane (Arundinaria appalachiana), a new species of bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from the southern Appalachian Mountains" (PDF), Sida, 22 (1): 79–95, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30, retrieved 2007-07-14
  8. ^ Brown, Anthony (22 May 2012). "River cane: Important Cherokee cultural staple". theonefeather.com. The Cherokee One Feather.