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Arundinaria gigantea

(Walt.) Walt. ex Muhl.

Giant Cane

G5Secure Found in 16 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

UnknownThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.138250

Element CodePMPOA0P011

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassMonocotyledoneae

OrderCyperales

FamilyPoaceae

GenusArundinaria

Synonyms

Arundinaria gigantea ssp. gigantea

Other Common Names

giant cane (EN) river cane (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Taxonomic Comments

This record represents the narrow concept of Arundinaria gigantea. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2007) recognizes A. gigantea and A. tecta as distinct species.

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2024-01-29

Change Date2024-01-29

Edition Date2024-02-12

Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024); rev. SE Ranking Workshop (2024)

Threat ImpactUnknown

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

Arundinaria gigantea is a long-lived perennial grass endemic to the United States from New York south to Florida, west to Texas, and north to Kansas. It can be locally common and grows in a variety of low, wet, forest or woodland habitats. This species can form large colonies from rhizomes. Fire suppression and habitat conversion are likely the biggest threats to this species, though browsing, invasive species, and hybridization are also threats.

Range Extent Comments

Arundinaria gigantea occurs primarily in the southeastern United States, extending to the northeast and south central United States, where it has been documented from New York south to Florida, west to Texas, and north to Kansas (FNA 2007). While many Florida specimens have been reviewed, only one near the Apalachicola River could be confirmed to be A. gigantea, and most Arundinaria in Florida appear to be A. tecta (Jenkins, pers. comm., 2024).

Occurrences Comments

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimen data, photo-based observation data, and NatureServe Network observation data documented between the years of 1993 and 2023, it is estimated that there are over 300 extant occurrences known (iNaturalist 2023, NatureServe 2023, SEINet 2023).

Threat Impact Comments

Arundinaria gigantea ssp. gigantea is threatened by development, habitat conversion, fire suppression, cattle, feral hogs, invasive species, and hybridization, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species. Cattle and hogs eat the grass, and hogs also cause damage by rooting.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Arundinaria gigantea grows in "bottomland and riparian forests, lower slopes and bluffs along streams, seeps, stream banks, and extending into less mesic and even dry settings on circumneutral or alkaline soils over limestone or dolomite, or in loess deposits along the Mississippi River" (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023).

Reproduction

This species is "presumed to be wind-pollinated and probably have mechanisms to facilitate outcrossing, including stigmas that develop after pollen is shed (Judziewicz et al.1999). "Typically in woody bamboos, the flowering period extends over several months, providing ample opportunity for wind pollination. Like other bamboos, Arundinaria reproduces extensively by rhizomes" (Triplett et al. 2010). This species may flower only once every 40-50 years (Triplett et al. 2010).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest - HardwoodForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - MixedGrassland/herbaceous

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Texas	SNR	Yes
North Carolina	S4	Yes
Kentucky	SNR	Yes
Florida	SU	Yes
West Virginia	S2	Yes
Arkansas	SNR	Yes
Virginia	SNR	Yes
Georgia	SNR	Yes
Tennessee	SNR	Yes
Oklahoma	SNR	Yes
Missouri	S3	Yes
Louisiana	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	SNR	Yes
South Carolina	S4	Yes
Indiana	S3	Yes
Delaware	SNR	Yes
Illinois	S2	Yes
Maryland	SNR	Yes
Alabama	SNR	Yes
Kansas	SNR	Yes
Ohio	SNR	Yes
Mississippi	S5	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
Unknown/undetermined	—	—	—

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL, Long-lived

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (16)

Alabama (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Oakey Mountain	Talladega National Forest	6,129

Arkansas (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Brush Heap	Ouachita National Forest	4,205
Clifty Canyon	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	1,963
Dismal Creek	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	9,160
Gee Creek	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	7,957
Richland Creek	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	571

Florida (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Alexander Springs Creek	Ocala National Forest	2,954

Illinois (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bay Creek	Shawnee National Forest	120
Ripple Hollow	Shawnee National Forest	3,788

Indiana (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Mogan Ridge	Hoosier National Forest	8,435

Kentucky (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Wolfpen	Daniel Boone National Forest	2,835

Missouri (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Irish Rare II Study Area	Mark Twain National Forest	1,226

North Carolina (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Yellowhammer Branch (add.)	Nantahala National Forest	1,255

South Carolina (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Mountain	Sumter National Forest	2,337

Tennessee (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Devil's Backbone	Cherokee National Forest	4,287

Texas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Winters Bayou	National Forests in Texas	730

References (10)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2007a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 24. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, part 1. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxviii + 911 pp.
iNaturalist. 2023. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2023).
Jenkins, Amy Miller. Personal Communication. Senior Botanist, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, Florida
Judziewicz, E.J., L.G. Clark, X. Londono, and M.J. Stern. 1999. American bamboos. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., USA.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Noss, R.F., E.T. LaRoe III, and J.M. Scott. 1995. Endangered ecosystems of the United States: a preliminary assessment of loss and degradation. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division (National Biological Service), Biological Survey Report no. 9501, Washington, DC.
Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2023. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2023).
Triplett, J.K., Oltrogge, K.A., and Clark, L.G. 2010. Phylogenetic relationships and natural hybridization among the North American woody bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: <i>Arundinaria</i>). American Journal of Botany 97(3): 471-492.
Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 14, 2023. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2105 pp.

Arundinaria gigantea

Habitat

Reproduction

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