North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Arundinaria tecta

Arundinaria tecta (Walter) Muhl.

switch cane, small cane

Synonym(s): Arundinaria gigantea ssp. tecta

Image ID: 12287
Image by: Cressler, Alan M.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: ARTE4
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Arundinaria tecta
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-11-09

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: ARUND2
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Arundinaria
GENUS AUTHORITY: Michx.
GENUS COMMON: Cane
GENUS SUMMARY: (contributed by Alan S. Weakley and Jimmy K. Triplett)
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Ward (2009c)=V; Clark & Triplett in FNA (2007a); Tucker (1988)=Y; McClure (1973)=Z; McClure (1963); Judziewicz et al. (2000)=X; Triplett, Weakley, & Clark (2006)=Q. The key is adapted from Q.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: POACEA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Poaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Grass Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT:

DURATION:
HABIT: Grass/Grasslike

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Apr-Jul

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
774	1985-0428			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1490	774	198	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: ARTE4
USDA Common Name:
Native Status:
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA)
Duration:
Growth Habit:

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACW				FACW				FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Arundinaria tecta
COMMON NAME: Switch Cane, Small Cane
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, Q, Tn, Va; < A. gigantea (Walter) Muhlenberg - C, GW, RAB, WH3; < A. tecta - F, HC, S, Y; < A. gigantea ssp. tecta (Walter) McClure - K, X, Z; = A. gigantea (Walter) Muhlenberg -V]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-Jul.
HABITAT: Savannas, pocosins, canebrakes, generally (but not solely) in wetlands.
COMMENTS: Primarily a Southeastern Coastal Plain endemic: e. MD to FL and s. AL. A. tecta is a smaller plant than A. gigantea (normally 1-2 m tall, but reaching heights of up to 4 m where fire-suppressed), and flowers more frequently, supposedly every 3-4 years (Tucker 1988), probably actually in response to fire. Taxon sampling suggests that even if A. tecta was at one time distributed west along the coastal plain from Florida to Louisiana, many contemporary populations of switch-cane-like plants may in fact be admixed with A. gigantea. Additional investigations are necessary to determine the extent to which A. tecta in the Gulf Coast region has been replaced by hybrids (see Arundiaria species 1).
RANGE MAP: Arundinaria tecta.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Poaceae (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Grass Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Arundinaria Michx. (Cane)
SUMMARY: (contributed by Alan S. Weakley and Jimmy K. Triplett)
REFERENCE: Ward (2009c)=V; Clark & Triplett in FNA (2007a); Tucker (1988)=Y; McClure (1973)=Z; McClure (1963); Judziewicz et al. (2000)=X; Triplett, Weakley, & Clark (2006)=Q. The key is adapted from Q.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Arundinaria tecta in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Arundinaria tecta in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Arundinaria tecta in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Arundinaria tecta in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Arundinaria tecta in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Arundinaria tecta

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 12287 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 12287 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 12285 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 12287 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)