Louisiana Plant ID | Arundinaria gigantea (switchcane)

FAMILY: POACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: giant switchcane

LEAVES: small leaves crowded at tips, blades 4 inches to 12 inches long X 0.75 inches to 1.5 inches wide

FLOWER: borne at long, indefinite periods; panicles composed of flattened spikelet, on older portions of stem or directly from rhizomes

FRUIT: grain; furrowed, enclosed in flattened spikelets

FORM: canes with smooth stems and small branches, 20 to 30 feet tall; forms dense stands called "canebreaks"

HABITAT: low, moist soils

WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region

RANGE: southeast US

USES: deer and cattle browse; cover for bears

USES:

Best Recognition Features:

culms* with distinct joints, 20 to 30 feet tall
parallel-veined leaves in fan-shape clusters at tips of small branches
forms dense stands (canebreaks)

School of Renewable Natural Reources	Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director \| creid4@lsu.edu LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA © 2003-2018 website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu page revised: 26-Jun-2019 2:21 PM msb	LSU AgCenter
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