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Arundinaria gigantea - (Walter.)Muhl.

Cane Reed

Author	(Walter.)Muhl.	Botanical references	11, 43, 200
Family	Gramineae	Genus	Arundinaria
Synonyms	Arundinaria macrosperma - Michx. Arundinaria tecta - (Walter.)Muhl. Arundo gigantea - Walter.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Southeastern N. America - Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Oklahoma to North Carolina, Florida and Texas.
Habitat	Forms dense thickets along riverbanks, in swamps and low woods[43, 235]. Found on all types of soil from sea level to 600 metres[195].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	1 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Bamboo growing to 9m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Seed; Stem.

Young shoots - cooked[11, 22, 46, 105, 183]. Used as a pot-herb[236]. Seed - cooked[46, 61, 161]. It can be used as a wheat substitute[2, 105], for which it is not much inferior[213], but it is rather small and difficult to collect in quantity[159]. The plants only flower at irregular intervals of several years.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Cathartic.

The root is cathartic. A decoction has been used to stimulate the kidneys and 'renew strength'[257].

Other Uses

Basketry; Musical; Weaving.

The canes are used as pipe-stems, are woven into baskets and mats plus a variety of other purposes[169, 236]. The hollow stems can be made into flutes[257].

Cultivation details

Prefers an open loam of fair quality and a position sheltered from cold drying winds[1, 11, 25]. Succeeds on peaty soils. Requires abundant moisture and plenty of organic matter in the soil. Plants are intolerant of drought[1]. Succeeds in full sun or dappled shade in warm, humid, damp conditions[200]. Some reports say that this plant is only hardy in S.W. England[1, 11, 25] though another report says that the roots are hardy to about -30°c if they are heavily mulched[169]. This plant used to form very extensive stands in much of south-eastern N. America, but it provides a nutritious forage and is very easily destroyed by the continuous grazing of cattle or the rooting of pigs and so has been greatly reduced in the wild[236]. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[200]. Plants only flower at intervals of many years. When they do come into flower most of the plants energies are directed into producing seed and consequently the plant is severely weakened. They sometimes die after flowering, but if left alone they will usually recover though they will look very poorly for a few years. If fed with artificial NPK fertilizers at this time the plants are more likely to die[122]. The rootstock is running, forming new shoots from late May[25].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse at about 20°c. Do not allow the compost to dry out. Germination usually takes place fairly quickly so long as the seed is of good quality, though it can take 3 - 6 months. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a lightly shaded place in the greenhouse until large enough to plant out. Bamboos only flower at intervals of several years and so seed is rarely available. Division in late spring as new growth commences. Take divisions with at least three canes in the clump, trying to cause as little root disturbance to the main plant as possible. Grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse in pots of a high fertility sandy medium. Mist the foliage regularly until plants are established. Plant them out into their permanent positions when a good root system has developed, which can take a year or more[200]. Rhizome cuttings. Basal cane cuttings.

Links

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[22] Sholto-Douglas. J. Alternative Foods. 0
Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.

[25] Lawson. Bamboos. Faber 1968
Fairly comprehensive, it was once the standard work but is now rather dated. Deals with species hardy in Britain, giving cultivation details and some uses.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[122] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 1. 1979 - 1980. Royal Horticultural Society 1979
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants. A good article on the flowering of bamboos.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden. 0
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[195] Farrelly. D. The Book of Bamboo Sierra Club. 1984 ISBN 0-87156-825-X
Very readable, giving lots of information on the uses of bamboos, both temperate and tropical.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[236] Hitchcock. A. S. Manual of the Grasses of the United States Dover Publications. New York. 1971 ISBN 0-486-22717-0
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Arundinaria gigantea

Kerrigan, W.B. Wed Aug 25 19:00:55 2004

Another common name for this plant in Native American communities is River Cane or Rivercane. Used in basket weaving of particularnote by the Cherokee peoples of the southeastern US.

Link: angelfire.com basketry grasses defined

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