Naturally Natives Evergreen River Cane text and photos by Scott Woodbury
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ny time of year when I startle a bird at work, it takes cover in a nearby patch of river cane. Once inside it disappears because the cane is dense year-round with stems and leaves. In this regard, it is like a shrub, though it is technically in the grass family and produces no wood. It also makes ideal, secluded nesting sites for a number of bird species including warblers. Massive patches of river cane once grew commonly along riverbanks throughout the Ozarks. These patches, called canebrakes, are excellent at preventing erosion along creeks and rivers because they have an extensive and dense spreading root system that tolerates short-term flooding. Unfortunately,
most canebrakes are long-gone, having been severely grazed by livestock. There are only three evergreen trees or shrubs native to Missouri that are readily available from native plant nurseries: shortleaf pine (Pinus echinatus), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and river cane (Arundinaria gigantea), a native species of bamboo. In landscaping, eastern red cedar makes an impenetrable screen with branches and leaves growing nearly to the ground. Shortleaf pine is a reliable tall, slender, and rapidly growing tree that is long-lived. It deserves more attention from the landscape industry, and so does River cane grown under a walnut tree grows more moderately and river cane, a very useful suckering bamboo that grows 7 to 10 feet produces fewer suckers. high.
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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2021
