The Genus Arundinaria
Family Poaceae
Botanists disagree on several aspects of this bamboo. Depending upon which scientific treatment of the genus that you chose to follow, this is a small to medium-sized genus of bamboo. Some limit it to one to three species in North America. Others extend it to include a species in Africa while still others include species in Asia. The native plants may be treated as a single species with three varieties or as three distinct species. All of the natives have ranges that include the Coastal Southeast. (See my discussion of scientific names and why they change.)
The grass family is a huge family that is distributed around the world. Other important garden plants in the grass family, Poaceae, include most of the grain and cereal plants, important crops like corn (Zea,) rice (Oryza,) sugar cane (Saccharum) and wheat (Triticum.) Several grass genera are important for use in lawns and as ornamental plants in our landscapes.
The grass family is a huge family that is distributed around the world. Other important garden plants in the grass family, Poaceae, include most of the grain and cereal plants, important crops like corn (Zea,) rice (Oryza,) sugar cane (Saccharum) and wheat (Triticum.) Several grass genera are important for use in lawns and as ornamental plants in our landscapes.
Arundinaria gigantea (syn. Arundinaria tecta)
Arundinaria gigantea (UNF)
wild cane
This is a running bamboo native to the Coastal Southeast. It grows to about six to eight feet tall in our area. Like other running bamboos in our area, the new shoots emerge in spring. Some botanists consider the shorter growing plant to be a separate species from twenty-foot tall giant canebrake, A. tecta. Others consider it to be a form of A. gigantea. In the wild, it grows in sun to part shade and requires a consistently moist site. Based on the few references I find to its cultivation, few people grow it in their gardens. From my experience, it is easy in a reasonably moist site in sun to part shade. A USDA map shows its natural range as New York to Florida so it is reliably cold hardy in our area.
This plant is found only in specialty catalogs. Plants are easily propagated by division. I expect that seeds will germinate readily when they are available.
This plant thrives in low-lying areas on the University of North Florida campus. It grows in some shade but looks best along sunny woodland edges. New shoots appear in March and April. A young colony in a comparatively moist part of my dry garden is slow-growing but is an attractive contrast to nearby wax myrtles. It is an attractive addition to a naturalistic garden in a moist site. New shoots can pop up several feet from the original planting.
This is a running bamboo native to the Coastal Southeast. It grows to about six to eight feet tall in our area. Like other running bamboos in our area, the new shoots emerge in spring. Some botanists consider the shorter growing plant to be a separate species from twenty-foot tall giant canebrake, A. tecta. Others consider it to be a form of A. gigantea. In the wild, it grows in sun to part shade and requires a consistently moist site. Based on the few references I find to its cultivation, few people grow it in their gardens. From my experience, it is easy in a reasonably moist site in sun to part shade. A USDA map shows its natural range as New York to Florida so it is reliably cold hardy in our area.
This plant is found only in specialty catalogs. Plants are easily propagated by division. I expect that seeds will germinate readily when they are available.
This plant thrives in low-lying areas on the University of North Florida campus. It grows in some shade but looks best along sunny woodland edges. New shoots appear in March and April. A young colony in a comparatively moist part of my dry garden is slow-growing but is an attractive contrast to nearby wax myrtles. It is an attractive addition to a naturalistic garden in a moist site. New shoots can pop up several feet from the original planting.