Observations of Cane (Arundinaria) Flowers, Seed, and Seedlings in the North Carolina Coastal Plain

Abstract

Cane, Arutndtnarta, is a true grass, with a perennial woody stem that sets it apart from all other grasses in this country. It is a member of the bamboo tribe. Most botanical manuals list two species of cane or reed: Arundinarta gigantea (Walt) Chap., large cane or southern cane; and Arundinarta tecta (Walt) Muhl., small cane or switch cane. This tall woody grass, which forms thickets or brakes is widely distributed in the Southern and Southeastern states. Early settlers had a high opinion of the canebrakes as natural pastures, and the experience of grazers ever since has confirmed the forage values of cane. Recent tests in North Carolina show that cane is possibly the highest yielding native range in the U. S.' Thus, where canebrakes are extensive, their use for grazing makes them an important local resource. This is particularly true in the North Carolina Coastal Plain, where the survey (Biswell and Foster, 1942) of forest grazing in 1940-41 showed that reed forage type is the most important for grazing and can be used nearly all the year. Cane provided 46 percent of the forest grazing in the forage types on the North Carolina Coastal Plain farms surveyed. This is in spite of the destruction of large canebrakes by cultivation, fire, and overgrazing. Most everywhere throughout its range the area of canbrakes is decreasing because of fire, uncontrolled grazing, and the clearing of land for cultivation. Once it is killed out, cane comes back so slowly that it will not restock naturally for several generations. The long delay or failure of reestablishment is due in large part to its habits of reproduction. This paper endeavors to fill in some of the blank spots in our knowledge of the life cycle of this arboreseent grass with information obtained in connection with forest-grazing investigations in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. General characteristics. Most botanists recognize two species of cane. But the points of difference used in descriptive keys, namely, stem origin, height, and position of (Hitchcock, 1935), do not facilitate a distinction in eastern North Carolina. Panicles on leafy branches, descriptive of A. gigantea, and panicles on leafless shoots from creeping rhizomes, giving the comparable character for A. tecta, can be applied to