ARUNDINARIA

genus of grasses (Poaceae) native to Asia and America, characterized by woody, cylindrical stems, persistent leaf sheaths with stiff, rough bristles, and flower spikelets. There are about 300 species of these bamboos and canes. Arundinaria giganteawhich is known as giant cane, southern cane, or canebrake bamboowas once widely utilized as a forage plant in the southeastern United States, from eastern Texas and Oklahoma to the Atlantic coast and north to the Ohio River valley. It produces green leaves and stems throughout the year and is valued for winter forage along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Giant cane grows in thickets and canebrakes in moist, fertile soil and thrives especially along riverbanks and in bottomlands. The stems are also woven into baskets and mats and are used to make pipestems and fishing poles.