Giant Cane, Arundinaria gigantea

"There are extensive Cane brakes or Cane meadows spread abroad round about, which afford the most acceptable and nourishing food for cattle" - William Bartram, 1791 Arundinaria gigantea (Giant Cane) is the only bamboo genus native to North America, that used to line the rivers in the South (and even as far north as New Jersey). The towering cane brakes were home for passenger pigeons and Carolina parakeets, amongst many other animals, and the abundant plant provided southeastern Native Americans with material for tools, structures, baskets, instruments, and food in the form of the young shoots and seeds. Despite its abundance and utility, by the end of the 19th century, the bamboo was virtually extinct due to overgrazing, changing fire regimens, and the agricultural development of flood plains. Remnant fields now represent roughly two per cent of its former expanse.