 |
|
Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Arundinaria gigantea
The environmental history of the southeast has been marked by a drastic decline in wetlands. Whether because of drainage, changes in fire patterns, timbering, or overgrazing, the vast majority of southeastern wetlands have long fallen before the expanse of European-descendent human beings. With them fell their floral inhabitants, such as Longleaf Pine and grass habitats. Giant Cane, one of three native species of Arundinaria, is a relic of those habitats, which formerly covered hundreds of thousands of acres in the southeastern coastal plain. Some scientists estimate that up to 98% of such ecosystems have been converted by human beings and no longer exist.
Giant Cane is an excellent ornamental and fulfills many of the same functions as bamboo. Unlike nonnative Asian bamboos, however, Giant Cane fulfills its role less invasively and provides substantial habitat for wildlife. Native American groups preferred hunting in “canebrakes” because the dense cover provided shelter for bears, deer, panthers, wildcats, wild turkeys, bobwhite quails, and numerous other large and small game animals.
Excellent companion plants with Giant Cane include Pines (Longleaf, Pond, Loblolly), Inkberry, Blueberries, Waxmyrtle, Blue Huckleberry, Jewelweed, Spicebush, and other grasses (Pineland Threeawn, Cutover Muhly, Little Bluestem, and Toothache Grass).
Poaceae (Grass)
A large perennial bamboo-like grass. Stems are hard, woody, and branched. Sheaths on stem branches are loose and papery. Leaf blades are stalked, flat, lance-shaped, 4-12” long, and pubescent above. Leaf sheaths are overlapping, with several long bristles at the top. Inflorescence is a single axis, sometimes with branches. Spikelets are stalked and solitary on the branches, with 8-12 flowers. Flowering occurs very rarely.
Typically 5-6” tall, but can be up to 25 feet tall over many years; widely spreading via rhizomes
A large, upright, spreading perennial grass
Moderate
Partial sun to dense shade
Giant Cane succeed best in wet to very moist soils as well as shielding from constant direct sun. The most successful plantings occur in wooded areas near creeks or other water sources. Despite their preference for wetter spots, Giant Cane plantings have succeeded in a wide variety of soil types and moisture levels, and even grow in the rocky, non-flooded peaks of the Appalachian Mountains. If at first you don’t succeed, try another spot!
The primary asset of Giant Cane is the size as well as its foliage. It makes an excellent replacement for invasive, nonnative bamboos.
Giant Cane grows well near ponds, lakes, streams, creeks, water gardens, swamps, and other wet areas. It is very tolerant of flooding and fire. It readily naturalizes and spreads in optimal locations. It attains a magnificent height with age and becomes essentially a very tall groundcover.
Its leaves are a preferred food of caterpillars of the southern pearly eye butterfly, which is almost ghost-like in how white it is. The dark, conspicuous eye-spots are unusual, even for butterflies.
Native to the eastern US from Florida west to Texas, north to Kansas, and northeast to New York. It favors swamps, canebrakes, pocosins, bottomlands, floodplains, swampy forests, and other seasonally inundated sites.
Division of clumps; rarely produces flowers or seed except after fires
Also known as Giant Cane
Text by Kevin Tarner, Georgia Wildlife Federation
|
