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Walking near a stream, you see something you think is a non-native bamboo. But take a closer look. Is it native? Odds are it’s not, but it’s wise to check. “Native bamboo” may sound like an oxymoron, but it's real. Most people call it rivercane.
Rivercane (genus Arundinaria) is a woody grass native to floodplains of the southeastern US, extending up into the National Capital Region (NCR). Once a wide-ranging species, rivercane provides important wildlife habitat and holds cultural significance to many Indigenous peoples.
Rivercane is an important material for basket making and other traditional tribal arts, and it appears on the Cherokee Nation’s list of Culturally Protected Species. Basket making is still performed in many communities but has become more challenging as rivercane populations have dwindled and become more fragmented.
Rivercane is one of four native North American woody grasses in the Arundinaria genus. The most common are rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea, aka giant rivercane or giant cane) and switchcane (Arundinaria tecta). Two other species are more geographically limited. A. appalachiana is limited to the southern Appalachian Mountains in dry or temperate habitats and A. alabamensis to northeastern Alabama.
Historically, rivercane could be found from New York down to Florida, and as far west as Ohio across to Texas. Rivercane now occupies only 2% of its former extent in the US. This perennial species can grow to over 20 feet tall and can typically be found in sunny areas along the banks of rivers and streams.
Dense clusters of rivercane are referred to as canebrakes. Canebrakes are valuable components of marshland systems that help protect water quality and prevent erosion by stabilizing soils along the banks of waterways. They also provide habitat for lots of wildlife including deer, reptiles, small rodents, and birds. The loss of historic canebrake habitat may have played a role in the extinction of Bachman’s warbler. Canebrakes were once nesting and breeding sites for these songbirds.
Rivercane reproduces by underground lateral spreading plant stems called rhizomes. This type of asexual reproduction means that patches of rivercane can be made up of plants that are genetically identical “clones”! The complex network of rivercane rhizomes helps to store large amounts of carbon and holds soil against erosion.
Distinguishing Rivercane from Non-Native Bamboo
While it can be difficult to distinguish rivercane from non-native bamboo, there are several features you can look for:
Rivercane stems are typically smaller than one inch in diameter, which is narrower than most non-native bamboo.
Branches on woody grasses grow from rings on the stem called nodes. Rivercane branches tend to appear tangled at the nodes. Non-native bamboos have straighter and more slender branches.
Rivercane branches are vertical, parallel to their stem, while non-native bamboos have branches that grow outward from a node at a 45-degree angle.
Other historic observations of rivercane have been documented in NCR at: Piscataway Park (part of National Capital Parks-East), George Washington Memorial Parkway, and Rock Creek Park (see NPSpecies). The observation from Rock Creek Park has not been relocated since it was originally documented in 2005.
If you think you may have spotted rivercane, report it to park staff. You can also report observations on iNaturalist.
Rivercane populations survive in smaller and more infrequent fragmented patches than they used to. Urbanization, land conversions due to agriculture, and overgrazing from livestock have contributed to rivercane decline. The National Park Service (NPS) has long recognized the need for canebrake conservation, and more work will need to be done to help restore these unique habitats. This includes reducing pollution and human impact, and avoiding planting of nonnative bamboos and other nonnative plants that might overtake areas preferred by rivercane.
Rivercane has historically responded well in environments treated with fire, a common practice used by Indigenous communities. Canebrakes are fire-dependent ecosystems, and though rivercane itself is highly fire prone, it is adapted to fire by resprouting quickly from underground rhizomes. The careful use of prescribed fire could help to maintain rivercane populations and prevent colonization by invasive species.
In 2023, the US Forest Service co-hosted a meeting with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians along with many other Tribal communities called the Rivercane Gathering, to discuss rivercane. (The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians is one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes in the United States). This meeting helped identify and address “knowledge gaps” in current approaches to rivercane restoration.
While rare in the NCR, rivercane is more common in the southeast. Several southeastern parks, including Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Georgia, are working to restore rivercane in its native wetlands. Indigenous knowledge will likely continue to play a pivotal role in helping to restore this vulnerable habitat.
Sounds like the bamboo "forests" are just a wetland plant. I'd guess habitat loss and invasive species are their main threat. Don't think pandas. Think alligators.
Sounds like the bamboo "forests" are just a wetland plant. I'd guess habitat loss and invasive species are their main threat. Don't think pandas. Think alligators.
It isn't even that they hate mating in captivity, it's the fact that baby pandas in captivity are separated from their mothers very early because the Chinese can't get enough of baby pandas. So they don't know how to act like a panda because they're not taught anything by their mother.
Agriculture conversion and overgrazing instead of proper rotation and controlled burning to propogate it since cane is rhizomatic and rarely blooms. Tennessee used to be filled with canebrakes and oak savannahs before, there's still a lot of cane in the boonies but nowhere near what there used to be. Ranchers used to feed cane to their livestock, cattle, but pigs espcially, would decimate the root system if not managed. It's sad as they were prime habitat for game and fowl and since it's slower to establish other vegetation takes its place very easily.
I was in eastern Kentucky a couple of decades ago visiting a friend, and one of the things he took me to when he was showing off the area to me was a canebreak. It was really beautiful, and one of the highlights of my visit.
Doesn’t help that they’re all in a state of chronic malnutrition. Wild pandas eat a lot of forage and game, not just bamboo. Zoo pandas are on a starvation diet.
