OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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



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 north of Mexico, vol. 24 (2007)

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 Floristic Synthesis of North America (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.

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_argi_001_lvd

        

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950    pnd_argi_003_lvd

        

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_argi_004_lvd

        

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

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).

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

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).

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

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).

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

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, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

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).

image of Arundinaria gigantea, River Cane, Giant Cane

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 north of Mexico, vol. 24
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 Floristic Synthesis of North America (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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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)

map
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!



 


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