Cane (grass)

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A giant canebrake (Arundo donax) Arundo.donax2web.jpg
A giant canebrake ( Arundo donax )

Cane is any of various tall, perennial grasses with flexible, woody stalks from the genera Arundinaria , [1] and Arundo .

Contents

Scientifically speaking, they are either of two genera from the family Poaceae.[ citation needed ] The genus Arundo is native from the Mediterranean Basin to the Far East. The genus Arundinaria is a bamboo (Bambuseae) found in the New World. Neither genus includes sugarcane (genus Saccharum , tribe Andropogoneae).

Cane commonly grows in large riparian stands known as canebrakes, found in toponyms throughout the Southern and Western United States; they are much like the tules ( Schoenoplectus acutus ) of California.

Depending on strength, cane can be fashioned for various purposes, including walking sticks, crutches, assistive canes, judicial or school canes, baskets, furniture, boats, roofs and wherever stiff, withy sticks can be put to good use.

A Cherokee river cane basket Cherokeetwilledbasketofcane.png
A Cherokee river cane basket

Etymology

The English word cane derives from Old French cane ' sugarcane ', from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα, from Official Aramaic qanhā, qanyā and from Akkadian qanû 'tube, reed'.

Other uses

Cane is used for a variety of artistic and practical purposes, such as Native American baskets of North America. During the 18th and early 19th century, non-commissioned officers in some European armies could carry canes to discipline troops (when not in use, the cane was hooked to a cross-belt or a button). Cane is used to describe furniture made of wicker.

See also

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Cane or caning 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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