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Wetland and Aquatic Plants
of
Oklahoma
Interactive Keys: Emergent
Grasslike
Grasses (Poacaceae)
1. Plants woody and in
excess of five inches in height
Gaint
cane (Arundinaria
gigantea (Walt.) Muhl.)
Native
Perennial.
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Note: Gaint cane forms dense stands, referred to
as
"canebrakes," which provide excellent habitat for numerous wildlife
species. The extent of canebrakes in
Oklahoma’s bottomland forests has been reduced by cattle grazing. The naturalist Thomas Nuttall (1821)
reported a canebrake 3.2 km in width near the confluence of the Grand
and
Verdigris Rivers. Cane has many
beneficial uses. The Choctaw, Cherokee,
and Seminole would weave the stems to make baskets and mats. They also used the hollow stems to make
blowguns and flutes."
NWI status:
FACW
Last update: 2/27/04
Comments to : Bruce Hoagland
bhoagland@ou.edu
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