What is Arundinaria?

Arundinaria , commonly called Cane, is the only family of bamboo from Eastern North America. There are three types: a. Appalachiana or Hill Cane, a. Tecta or switch and a. Gigantea , commonly called a giant cane or river stick. Canes grow only in the Eastern United States, from New Jersey in the north to Florida in the south and west to Texas and Ohio. Before the European colonization, the plant was very important for indigenous Americans. Arundinaria was first described in 1788, when it was classified under the grass of the grass arundo , and assumed it had only two species, a. Gigantea and a. Tecta .

Arundinaria The stems are 1.6 to 26 feet high (0.5 to 8 meters) and have rhizomes or horizontal underground stems. They rarely produce seeds and seed production often follows the death of the colony. Plants arundinaria have leaf growth similar to fan, called node, at the top of the newstems.

a. Appalachiana comes from the Appalachian mountains in the southeastern United States, while a. Tecta grows in the swamps and other wet areas and a. Gigantea grow along permanent streams. a. Appalachiana was originally classified as a variant a. Tecta , but in 2006 it became classified as a separate species. a. Appalachiana is the smallest species in the genus, with stalks limited to a length of about 3.2 feet (1 meter), while a. Gigantea is arundinaria .

during an early European survey of today's United States, arundinaria grew in extremely large concentrations called canebrakes, especially in the lowlands of the river. Canebrakes covered hundreds of thousands of acres or hectares. Clearing, Agriculture and Fire has been exhausted sinceThe technology from overseas and forced relocation of indigenous people who used cane plants.

Before the arrival of Europeans, the indigenous Americans used sticks as fuel, food and craft medium that used parts of the plant to make such diverse objects such as clothing, housing, basket, woven mats, tubes, musical instruments, weapons, jewelry, furniture and boats. Arundinaria was also used to produce a drug and as a feed for livestock. The plant is traditionally used to stimulate the kidneys and restore strength. a. Gigantea was historically used for the fashion of flute and woven baskets, especially Cherokee and other tribes of the Eastern United States. Canebrakes were also used as wild gaming habitats and agricultural land.