Arundinaria

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Arundinaria
Arundinaria tecta 66420695.jpg
Arundinaria tecta
northern Florida in March 2003
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Bambusoideae
Tribe: Arundinarieae
Subtribe: Arundinariinae
Genus: Arundinaria
Michx.
Synonyms
  • LudolfiaWilld. 1808, illegitimate homonym not Adans. 1763 (Aizoaceae)
  • MacronaxRaf.
  • MiegiaPers. 1805, illegitimate homonym not Schreb. 1791 (Cyperaceae)
  • TriglossumFisch.

Arundinaria is a genus of bamboo in the grass family the members of which are referred to generally as cane. [1] [2] Arundinaria is the only bamboo native to North America, with a native range from Maryland south to Florida and west to the southern Ohio Valley and Texas. [3] [4] Within this region Arundinaria canes are found from the Coastal Plain to medium elevations in the Appalachian Mountains.

Contents

Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, cane was an important resource for Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Early European explorers in the U.S. described vast monotypic stands of Arundinaria that were common in river lowlands and covered hundreds of thousands of hectares. In the modern era, Arundinaria canebrakes are small and isolated, but there has been interest in restoring them due to the cultural and ecological importance of the plant. [5] Canebrakes provided land for crops, habitat for wild game, and year-round forage for livestock. The cane itself was used for construction, weapons, jewelry, medicines, fuel, and food. Canebrakes declined significantly after colonization due to clearing, farming and fire suppression. [6] [7] [8]

Grouping of Arundinaria gigantea at Cane Ridge Meeting House in Kentucky, USA Cane P6200080 Ar.jpg
Grouping of Arundinaria gigantea at Cane Ridge Meeting House in Kentucky, USA

Description

Arundinaria species have running rhizomes and have slender, woody culms that reach heights from 0.5 to 8 metres (1.6 to 26.2 ft). Arundinaria produce seeds only rarely and usually reproduce vegetatively, forming large clonal genets. When seed production does occur, the colony usually dies afterwards, possibly because the dense thickets of a mature canebrake would otherwise prevent seedling establishment. Only two flowering events are known for A. appalachiana. [9] A colony of cane will expand rapidly using asexual reproduction following disturbances, particularly fire, which triggers new shoots to immediately sprout from the underground rhizomes after the above-ground part of the plant has burned. These shoots grow quickly, up to 1.5 inches per day. [10] Among the distinctive features of the canes is a fan-like cluster of leaves at the top of new stems called a topknot, so-called because of its resemblance to topknot hairstyles. [6] [7]

'Topknot' at the top of an Arundinaria tecta 'switch cane' culm Arundinaria tecta 51866294.jpg
'Topknot' at the top of an Arundinaria tecta 'switch cane' culm
Dried Arundinaria 'topknot' from the top of an Arundinaria gigantea 'giant river cane' culm Arundinaria gigantea 115419560.jpg
Dried Arundinaria 'topknot' from the top of an Arundinaria gigantea 'giant river cane' culm
Arundinaria appalachiana along the Little Tennessee River Arundinaria appalachiana 147003028.jpg
Arundinaria appalachiana along the Little Tennessee River

Taxonomy

Species

There are three species of Arundinaria accepted by the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) as of January 2024, listed below. [11]

A fourth species, A. alabamensisTriplett (Tallapoosa cane), was described in June 2023 [12] [13] and is accepted by at least one local botanical authority, [14] but it has yet to be added to the WCVP.

Taxonomic history

The genus Arundinaria has a complex taxonomic history spanning over two centuries. The canes of the southeastern U.S. were originally described as two species of reed grasses in the genus Arundo by Thomas Walter in 1788. André Michaux, working in 1803 and unaware of Walter's work, correctly interpreted the canes as a distinct group and created the genus Arundinaria with one species. However, neither of these researchers left enough information to their successors, leading to confusion surrounding the identity of the species they had described. A decade later in 1813, G.H.E. Muhlenberg noticed the affinities between the two previous authors' work and transferred Walter's two species to Michaux's new genus, yielding a combinatio nova for each, namely Arundinaria gigantea(Walt.) Muhl. and Arundinaria tecta(Walt.) Muhl.. Muhlenberg considered the genus to consist of these two species in addition to Arundinaria macrospermaMichx..

The phenotypic diversity of the American Arundinaria bamboos subsequently led to a variety of taxonomic treatments, with some authors arguing that only the North American species should be included, while others included dozens of Asian species otherwise considered members of other genera (Bashania, Oligostachyum, Sarocalamus, Fargesia, Sasa, etc.). Even African bamboos were placed in Arundinaria under broad concepts for the group. [7] [15] Some outdated systems during this era assigned Arundinaria more than 400 species. [6] [7]

A. S. Hitchcock reviewed the taxonomic state of the North American bamboos in 1951. He interpreted Michaux's Arundinaria macrospermaMichx. as a synonym of Walter's Arundinaria gigantea(Walt.) Muhl., reducing the genus to two species. [16] By the late 20th century, Floyd Alonzo McClure's 1973 survey of Arundinaria was also considered authoritative, and included only one species, Arundinaria gigantea . Most recently, in 2006 researchers from Iowa State University and the University of North Carolina recognised and described a third species, Arundinaria appalachiana Triplett, Weakley & L.G. Clark. The plants that form this species were previously thought to form part of the natural genetic diversity of Arundinaria gigantea(Walt.) Muhl., but upon in depth analysis using modern phylogenetic methods based on morphology and amplified fragment length polymorphisms, the researchers determined that the canes form three species. [7] Phylogenetic studies in 2006 using molecular and morphological evidence have suggested that the genus forms three natural species confined to the southeastern United States.

Systematics

Two of the three species currently placed in the genus, Arundinaria gigantea and Arundinaria tecta , were first described scientifically by Thomas Walter in his 1788 Flora Caroliniana. Walter placed them in the grass genus Arundo . In 1803, the French botanist André Michaux, unaware of the flora prepared by Walter, also published a description of the canes he encountered. Michaux recognised only one species, but created a new monotypic genus for it: Arundinaria macrospermaMichx.. [16] The name of the genus he used is derived from the same Latin word used by Walter for the plants he described; namely arundo, meaning "reed". [6]

Despite the work done by Walter and Michaux, subsequent researchers had difficulty interpreting their circumscriptions of species boundaries. Walter designated no type specimens, and his Latin protologues that describe the species are vague, including features that could be any of the three species currently recognized. Michaux did designate a type specimen for the species he described, but it does not include enough of the plant to determine with confidence which species it represents, while his protologues were likewise not detailed enough to avoid ambiguity. In 2009, epitypes, a new form of botanical type allowed by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature in order to clarify older ambiguous types, were designated for Arundo giganteaWalt. and Arundinaria macrospermaMichx.. This allows current and future researchers to know precisely what is being discussed when the scientific names applied to these plants are used. [16]

Rivercane basket in Noon-Day Sun pattern, by Peggy Brennan (Cherokee Nation) Rivercane basket peggy brennan.jpg
Rivercane basket in Noon-Day Sun pattern, by Peggy Brennan (Cherokee Nation)

Uses

Ethnobotanists consider cane to have been extremely important to Native Americans in the Southeastern Woodlands before European colonisation. The river cane basketry art is at minimum 3000 years old, and can arguably be considered "the most difficult and complex of weaving technologies." [17] The plant was used to make structures, arrow shafts, weapons, torches, fishing equipment, jewelry, baskets, musical instruments, furniture, boats, pipe stems, and medicines. [18] Arundinaria gigantea, or river cane, has historically been used to construct Native American flutes, particularly among tribes of the Eastern Woodlands. The Atakapa, Catawba, Muscogee Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and other Southeastern tribes have traditionally used this material for mat and basket weaving, [19] and the Chitimacha and Eastern Band Cherokee still widely weave with rivercane today, though basket makers have started making smaller baskets in order to use less material and preserve the increasingly rare river cane. [20] Bean poles made from dried canes can last for several years if properly stored when not in use.

Basketry

There are several reasons river cane is favored over all other materials for crafting. It can be split into coarser sections for sturdier baskets, or split very thinly for baskets that are delicate and flexible. The smooth, satiny outer surface of the cane stems forms a natural patina when heat or friction is applied to the outer surface. [17] Cane suitable for basket weaving is straight, with the nodes spaced far apart. [21]

Cane is processed by splitting cut sections from top to bottom into quarters or eighths, and then carefully peeling off the smooth outer layer in a single long piece, scraping off any excess material from the inner surface until the splits are thin and flexible enough to be easily wrapped around the artisan's finger. The splits are soaked in water to keep them flexible and woven wet. Undyed cane baskets change from green, to cream, to finally yellow as they age. After this, the color of the cane does not change and a basket that is 100 years old can look the same as one that is 500 years old. Cane splits are dyed a variety of colors including black, brown, red, orange, yellow, or purple and woven into intricate geometric designs. Claude Medford Jr., a Choctaw craftsman, taught the techniques of boiling bloodroot with salt for orange dye, using black walnut for brown and black dye, soaking cane along with curly dock for yellow, and adding mussel shells to cane soaking in curly dock to change the color to red. [21] Plaiting and twilling are the two basic weaving techniques utilized in river cane baskets, and from there many variations exist, including double-woven baskets. Different tribes of Native Americans, and often specific families, had their own unique designs and techniques, which spread around through trade. [17] The Chitimacha and Catawba split the cane into very narrow splits and weave them with the smooth side inward, whereas the Choctaw weave with wider splits and face the smooth side outward. [21] When Native Americans were forced into lands different than their homelands, many techniques became lost, and new techniques had to be found for dyeing and crafting. Other new techniques were adopted to be marketable to European settlers for trading. One example of knowledge that has been lost is the original Choctaw names for patterns used in basketry, which had to be planned using mathematics because they were so sophisticated. Many traditional patterns themselves, however, still survive. [17]

Food

Food uses include flour, cereal, and even "asparagus" of young shoots; however, caution should be used whenever foraging for cane seeds, as the extremely toxic fungus ergot ( Claviceps spp.) can colonize its seeds as well as those of the common cereals. Ergot-infected plants will have pink or purplish blotches or growths about the size of a seed or several times larger. [22]

Medicinally, the Choctaw use the roots for their painkilling properties.

Conservation

The organization Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources, using funding from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, has helped establish restoration sites for Arundinaria gigantea. [20] In 2022, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians was awarded a $1.9 million grant by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to manage and restore river cane ecosystems throughout their historic homelands in Oklahoma. [23] [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bamboo</span> Subfamily of flowering plants in the grass family Poaceae

Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in the case of Dendrocalamus sinicus individual culms reaching a length of 46 meters, up to 36 centimeters in thickness and a weight of up to 450 kilograms. The internodes of bamboos can also be of great length. Kinabaluchloa wrayi has internodes up to 2.5 meters in length. and Arthrostylidium schomburgkii with lower internodes up to 5 meters in length, exceeded in length only by papyrus. By contrast, the culms of the tiny bamboo Raddiella vanessiae of the savannas of French Guiana are only 10–20 millimeters in length by about two millimeters in width. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, but it probably comes from the Dutch or Portuguese language, which originally borrowed it from Malay or Kannada.

<i>Arundo</i> Genus of grasses

Arundo is a genus of stout, perennial plants in the grass family.

<i>Yushania</i> Genus of grasses

Yushania is a genus of bamboo in the grass family.

<i>Nastus</i> Genus of grasses

Nastus is a genus of slender, erect, scrambling or climbing bamboos in the grass family. It is native to Southeast Asia, Papuasia, and certain islands in the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basket weaving</span> Weaving of pliable materials to make three-dimensional artifacts

Basket weaving is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets may be known as basket makers and basket weavers. Basket weaving is also a rural craft.

<i>Arundo donax</i> Species of plant

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<i>Cardamine diphylla</i> Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Cardamine diphylla is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a spring flowering woodland plant that is native to eastern North America.

<i>Arundinaria appalachiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Arundinaria appalachiana, commonly known as hill cane, is a woody bamboo native to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States. The plant was elevated to the species level in 2006 based on new morphological and genetic information and was previously treated as a variety of Arundinaria tecta. The shortest member of its genus, hill cane ranges from 0.4–1.8 meter tall with a habit ranging from diffuse to pluri-caespitose. It is one of only three temperate species of bamboo native to North America. Hill cane is common on dry to mesic sites on upland slopes, bluffs and ridges in oak-hickory forests, which distinguishes it from other species in the genus: Arundinaria gigantea typically appears along perennial streams, while Arundinaria tecta is found in swamps and other very wet areas.

The Canebrake is a historical region of west-central Alabama in the United States, which was once dominated by thickets of Arundinaria, a type of bamboo, or cane, native to North America. It was centered on the junction of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers, near Demopolis, and extended eastward to include large parts of Hale, Marengo, and Perry counties. Portions of Greene and Sumter were also often included.

Cane or caning may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cane (grass)</span> Genera Arundinaria and Arundo

Cane is any of various tall, perennial grasses with flexible, woody stalks from the genera Arundinaria, and Arundo.

A. gigantea may refer to:

<i>Arundinaria gigantea</i> Species of bamboo from North America known as giant river cane

Arundinaria gigantea is a species of bamboo known as giant cane, river cane, and giant river cane. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States as far west as Oklahoma and Texas and as far north as New York. Giant river cane was economically and culturally important to indigenous people, with uses including as a vegetable and materials for construction and craft production. Arundinaria gigantea and other species of Arundinaria once grew in large colonies called canebrakes covering thousands of acres in the southeastern United States, but today these canebrakes are considered endangered ecosystems.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canebrake</span> A thicket of any of a variety of Arundinaria grasses

A canebrake or canebreak is a thicket of any of a variety of Arundinaria grasses: A. gigantea, A. tecta and A. appalachiana. As a bamboo, these giant grasses grow in thickets up to 24 feet (7.3 m) tall. A. gigantea is generally found in stream valleys and ravines throughout the southeastern United States. A. tecta is a smaller stature species found on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. Finally, A. appalachiana is found in more upland areas at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. Cane does not do well on sites that meet wetland classification; instead canebrakes are characteristic of moist lowland, floodplain areas that are not as saturated as true wetlands.

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<i>Arundinaria tecta</i> Species of grass

Arundinaria tecta, or switchcane, is a bamboo species native to the Southeast United States, first studied in 1813. It serves as host to several butterfly species. The species typically occurs in palustrine wetlands, swamps, small to medium blackwater rivers, on deep peat in pocosins, and in small seepages with organic soils. The species is only known to occur in the Atlantic Plain, Gulf Coastal Plain, and Mississippi Embayment, though it was earlier thought to exist in the Piedmont and Southern Appalachians as well. Specimens from the uplands are now thought to be a separate but morphologically similar species, Arundinaria appalachiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Navarro Paul</span> Native American basket maker from Louisiana

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References

  1. ↑ Michaux, André (1803). Flora boreali-americana :sistens caracteres plantarum quas in America septentrionali collegit et detexit Andreas Michaux. Vol. 1. Parisiis et Argentorati: apud fratres Levrault.
  2. ↑ "Tropicos". www.tropicos.org. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  3. ↑ University, Utah State. "Herbarium". www.usu.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. ↑ "2013 BONAP North American Plant Atlas. TaxonMaps". bonap.net. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  5. ↑ Barret, Richard; Grabowski, Janet; Williams, M.J. "Giant Cane and Other Native Bamboos: Establishment and Use for Conservation of Natural Resources in the Southeast" (PDF). ncrs.usda.gov. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Clark, Lynn G.; Triplett, J.K. (2006), "Arundinaria", Flora of North America, vol. 25, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, archived from the original on 2010-06-26, retrieved 2007-07-14
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Triplett, J.K.; Weakley, A.S.; Clark, L.G. (2006), "Hill cane (Arundinaria appalachiana), a new species of bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from the southern Appalachian Mountains" (PDF), Sida, 22 (1): 79–95, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30, retrieved 2007-07-14
  8. ↑ Brown, Anthony (22 May 2012). "River cane: Important Cherokee cultural staple". theonefeather.com. The Cherokee One Feather.
  9. ↑ Campbell, Julian. "Growth of Cane (Arundinaria sensu stricto), the Mysterious Native Bamboo of North America" (PDF). bluegrasswoodland.com.
  10. ↑ Cockman, Crystal. "The loss of the great canebrakes". ui.charlotte.edu. UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.
  11. ↑ "Arundinaria Michx. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. 2023-01-25. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  12. ↑ "Biology Professor Discovers New Species of Bamboo - JSU News". www.jsu.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  13. ↑ Triplett, J.K. (2023-06-26). "Tallapoosa Cane (Arundinaria alabamensis), a new species of temperate bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from East Central Alabama". Phytotaxa. 600 (3): 153–168. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.600.3.3. ISSN   1179-3163.
  14. ↑ "Arundinaria alabamensis - Species Page - APA: Alabama Plant Atlas". floraofalabama.org. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  15. ↑ Zhu, Zheng-de; De-zhu, Li; Stapleton, Chris (2007), "Arundinaria", in Wu, Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y. (eds.), Flora of China, vol. 22, Beijing: Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, p. 112, retrieved 2007-07-15
  16. 1 2 3 Triplett, Jimmy K.; Clark, Lynn G. (September 2009), "Towards a stable nomenclature for the North American temperate bamboos: epitypification of Arundo gigantea Walt. and Arundinaria macrosperma Michx. (Poaceae)", Castanea, 74 (3): 207–212, doi:10.2179/09-010R1.1, S2CID   83921759
  17. 1 2 3 4 Dixon, Diane; Domjanovich, Steve (1992). "Native North American Cane Basketry". Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot. 21 (83): 24–25.
  18. ↑ Platt, Steven G.; Brantley, Christopher G.; Rainwater, Thomas R. (September 2009), "Native American ethnobotany of cane (Arundinaria spp.) in the southeastern United States: a review", Castanea, 74 (3): 271–285, doi:10.2179/08-023R2.1, S2CID   85780027
  19. ↑ Mason, Otis T. (1890), Basket-Work of the North American Aborigines, Washington: Government Printing Office
  20. 1 2 "A New Day for Rivercane". conservingcarolina.org. Conserving Carolina. 23 June 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 Norton, Carol (1989–90). "Choctaw Cane Baskets". Shuttle Spindle and Depot. 21: 55–58.
  22. ↑ Peterson, Lee. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Page 228. Accessed the sixth of September, 2010. ISBN   0-395-20445-3.
  23. ↑ "United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Awarded Funds to Restore Endangered River Cane Ecosystems". Native American Fish & Wildlife Society. 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  24. ↑ "America the Beautiful Challenge - 2022 Grant Slate" (PDF). National Fish and Wildlife Foundation . November 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
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