Arundo donax

What to Eat

Edible parts: Shoots, Roots

Edible Parts: Leaves Root Edible Uses: Edible Parts: Young shoots and, rarely, grains (though viable seeds are seldom produced). Shoots: Tender young shoots are technically edible, with an excellent flavor, but the texture is usually too tough and fibrous to be enjoyable raw or cooked. Boiling them does not soften the fibers much, but produces a pleasantly flavored broth or tea-like beverage. Seeds: Almost never viable in North America, making them an unreliable food source. Rhizomes: Thick and woody; generally inedible. While edible, this species should be considered to have very low food value due to its toughness and unreliable seeds [2-3]. Rhizome - raw or cooked. The rhizome can be dried and ground into a powder to make bread, typically in conjunction with cereal flours [7, K]. It can also be roasted or boiled. Leaves - cooked as a potherb. They are very bitter. The young shoots are used.

Where to Find It

A temperate plant. It is frost hardy. It can grow in the tropics. It grows in Nepal from 1500-2400 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 7-11. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Afghanistan, Africa, Andorra, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Britain, Cambodia, Canada, Caribbean, Central Asia, Chile, China, East Africa, Easter Island, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, France, Greece, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Portugal, SE Asia, Samoa, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tibet, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam,

How to Identify

A large grass. It grows 3.7-4.5 m tall and 1.2-1.8 m wide. It forms clumps. It has rhizomes. The stems are like bamboo. They can be 6 m tall. The leaves are drooping and grey-green. They are 60 cm long. They have thick joints and slender stems. The flower plumes are feathery and purple at first but white later. They grow on second year stems in mild climates.

How to Grow

Prefers a moist fertile soil in a sunny sheltered position, preferably by water. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.5 to 8.3. Plants can be grown as a specimen in lawns etc, succeeding in quite coarse grass. Plants are succeeding in a site that is very exposed to maritime winds at Rosewarne in Cornwall. Adapted to tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates of the World, Giant reed is often found on sand dunes near seashores. It tolerates some salt. It grows best along river banks and in other wet places, and is best developed in poor sandy soil and in sunny situations. Said to tolerate all types of soils, from heavy clays to loose sands and gravelly soils. Ranging from Cool Temperate Wet through Tropical Dry to Wet Forest Life Zones, giant reed is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 30 to 400cm, an average annual temperature range of 9 to 28.5°C and a pH in the range of 5.0 to 8.7. One report says that this plant is only hardy in the milder areas of Britain whilst another report says that it is hardy to between -5 and -10°c. This contradicts with the hardiness zone rating of 6 which would make the plant hardy in most areas of Britain. Plants thrive outdoors at Oxford Botanical Gardens as well as at Hilliers Arboretum in Hampshire and the RHS Gardens in Surrey. Extensively cultivated in S. Europe for basket making etc. Plants rarely if ever flower in British gardens233]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer. Height: 6–10 m (20–33 ft). Stems: Hollow, cane-like, up to 3 cm thick. Growth: Forms dense, clonal thickets. USDA zones: 6–10. Not frost-hardy in colder climates, though rhizomes can resprout after mild frosts.

Propagation: Seed - surface sow in a greenhouse in February to April. Stand the pots in about 3cm of water to keep the soil moist until the seed germinates. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once they are 20cm or more tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Division in spring. Whilst large divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, we have found that it is best to pot the divisions up and keep them in light shade in a greenhouse until they are rooting away well. Stem cuttings, placed in water, root easily.

Medicinal Uses

Diaphoretic Diuretic Emollient Galactofuge Hypotensive The root is diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient and galactofuge. An infusion is said to stimulate menstrual discharge and diminish milk flow. A paste of the root is applied to the forehead to treat headaches. Isolated alkaloids have been experimentally shown to raise the blood pressure and contract the intestine and uterus. The rhizome or rootstock is used in the treatment of dropsy. Boiled in wine with honey, the root or rhizome has been used for treating cancer. The plant contains the alkaloid gramine. This is said to be a vasopressor, raising the blood pressure in dogs after small doses, causing a fall in larger doses. The stems have been used as splints for broken limbs.

Other Uses

Basketry Biomass Broom Dye Fodder Hedge Hedge Musical Paper Pipes Plant support Shelterbelt Soil stabilization Thatching Weaving Brooms are made from the terminal panicles. Plants are grown alongside irrigation canals to check soil erosion. The plant can be grown as a windbreak screen. If cut down, the culms branch and in this form the plants can be used as a hedge. The leaves can be woven into mats etc, whilst the split and flattened stems are used to make screens, walls of houses etc. A yellow dye is obtained from the pollen. The stems of the plant have a multitude of applications. They are used as plant supports for vines and other climbing plants and to make clarinets, bag-pipes etc. They are also used as pipe stems, for roofing, to make screens, walking sticks and in basketry. They are used to make the reeds of clarinets and organ pipes. The stems can be harvested as desired at any time of the year. The fibre from the stems can be used to make a good quality paper. This plant is currently (1995) under investigation at Rosewarne in Cornwall as a potential commercial paper crop for small-scale industries in SW. England. Because of rather high yields from natural stands, the plant has been suggested as a source of biomass for energy production. Dry cane yields of ca 10, 15, and 20 tonnes per hectare were reported respectively from infertile, partly fertile and fertile soils. According to the phytomass files annual productivity ranges from 10 to 59 tonnes per hectare, the latter figure from Westlake's (1963) estimate of 57 - 59 tonnes. In addendum, Westlake cites evidence that Arundo donax can produce 40–75 MT/ha/yr. in warm temperate and tropical regions. Early vegetative growth has ME (metabolizable energy) of 2.22 megacalories/kg DM, while hay has an ME of only 1.37 (Gohl, 1981). Such annual productivity, if sustainable, makes this a notable energy candidate, especially when one considers the energy as a by-product, with leaf protein and potential pharmaceutical as primary products. A particular type of cellulose is obtained from the plant. In Italy, the plant is used in the manufacture of rayon. Bio-fuel crop. Special Uses Carbon Farming Hedge Hedge

Arundo donax is a tall perennial cane. It is one of several so-called reed species. It has several common names including giant cane, elephant grass, carrizo, arundo, Spanish cane, Colorado river reed, wild cane, and giant reed. Arundo and donax are respectively the old Latin and Greek names for reed. Arundo donax grows in damp soils, either fresh or moderately saline, and is native to the Greater Middle East. It has been widely planted and naturalised in the mild temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of both hemispheres, especially in the Mediterranean, California, the western Pacific and the Caribbean and is considered invasive in North America and Oceania. It forms dense stands on disturbed sites, sand dunes, in wetlands and riparian habitats.

Other Information

It is cultivated.

Notes

There are 2 or 3 Arundo species. The rhizome is used in medicine in Nepal. It can become invasive.

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