Arundinaria - WikiHQ

Arundinaria is a genus of bamboo in the grass family, the members of which are referred to generally as cane. 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.

Within this region Arundinaria cane is found from the Coastal Plain to medium elevations in the Appalachian Mountains.

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. 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.

thumb|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 . 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. 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. 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.

Arundinaria alabamensis Triplett – Tallapoosa cane
Arundinaria appalachiana Triplett, Weakley & L.G.Clark – Hill cane
Arundinaria gigantea (Walt.) Muhl. – River cane
Arundinaria tecta Muhl. – Switch cane

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 macrosperma Michx..

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. Some outdated systems during this era assigned Arundinaria more than 400 species.

thumb|200px|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." The plant was used to make structures, arrow shafts, weapons, torches, fishing equipment, jewelry, baskets, musical instruments, furniture, boats, pipe stems, and medicines. 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, 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. 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.

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.

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.

References

External links

Description of Arundinaria