Arundinaria tecta (Walt.) Muhl., switch cane 
DESCRIPTION 
Warm-season, robust, rhizomatous, woody perennial. 
Height: 4 to 10 feet. 
Leaf blade: Lance-shaped; underside usually hairy. 
Leaf sheath: Commonly as long as internodes; ring of short, 
stiff hair across collar. 
Stem: Round; hollow; woody. 
Rhizomes: Air canals in the periphery continue through 
nodes. 
Seedhead: Racemes produced on top of leafless or nearly 
leafless stems. 
GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 
Grows all year if conditions are favorable. Leaves are produced 
from buds at nodes along the stems. Produces seedheads in early 
fall. Reproduces primarily from rhizomes. Air canals in the rhi- 
zomes may help the grass plant adapt to waterlogged soils or fre- 
quently flooded sites. Grows in pure stands on most sites. 
DISTRIBUTION 
From Virginia to southern Ohio and Illinois, south to Florida, 
and west to Texas. 
SITE ADAPTATION 
Grows best in swampy woods and sandy flood plains. 
USE AND MANAGEMENT 
Switch cane is a good forage plant and is grazed by all live- 
stock. It is grazed mostly in summer in northern part of range 
and is highly valued as winter forage in southern Coastal Plain 
and along Gulf of Mexico. The robust rhizomes of switch cane 
bind the soil and protect it from erosion. In southern Mississippi, 
switch cane is called muttongrass because of its value as sheep 
forage. 
Leaves along stem are within easy reach of most livestock. 
They sometimes “ride down” large plants to get the terminal 
leaves. Removing more than 50 percent of green leaves weakens 
the plant. This is particularly true in August when plant food re- 
serves are lowest. 
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