418 



Bulletin No. 20;' 



[March, 



287 



Figs. 284-287. — 284, E. hystrix, iuflorescenee; 28.'5, E. hystrix, spikelet; 286, 

 A. iiwcrosperma, spikelet; 287, A. inacrosperma, leaf showing attachment of 

 blade to sheath 



63. ARUNDINARIA IMiclix. 

 Cane 



These woody grasses of the southern swamps are found along the 

 banks of the rivers in the southern part of the state. The genus is 

 characterized by the perennial, Avoody culms, also by the blades nar- 

 rowed into a short petiole at the junction with the sheath. The spike- 

 lets are large, flattened, many-flowered, with the lemmas keeled and 

 ending in a sharp point. The plants do not flower every year. The 

 leaves are broad compared with the width and very firm. There are 

 two species of Arundinaria in the country and both have been reported 

 from Illinois. These are A. macrosperma and A. tecta, known as 

 giant cane and small cane. These are distinct species, but only one, 

 A. macrosperma, occurs in Illinois, the other being confined to the 

 Atlantic coast. Lapham reports that the culms of A. macrosperma 

 reach a height of thirty or forty feet in southern Illinois, yet recent 

 specimens of that species collected there are less than two feet tall. 

 Similar small specimens of A. macrosperma have doubtless been in- 

 correctly referred to A. tecta. 



Arundinaria macrosperma Michx. 

 Large Cane. Giant Cane (Figs. 286 and 287) 



Michaux '03, 74; Lapham '57, 547, 584, (Plate .3, Fig. 5) ; Patterson '76, 51; 

 Flagg '78, 282. A. tecia, Patterson '76, 51; Flagg '78, 282. 



Culms woody, 1.5 to 40 feet tall, branched near the top; sheaths 



ciliate on the margins, otherwise glabrous ; leaves lanceolate, sometimes 



rough, 3 to 12 inches long, the largest 20 to 30 mm. wide; inflorescence 



on the old wood ; spikelets 35 to 60 mm. long. 



