Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Runners

Defense

Armor

Status

Uncommon

About

This tall, woody grass grows in dense thickets along rivers across the Southeast. It spreads through underground stems that can push through soil at a rate of several feet per year.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Poales

Family

Poaceae

Genus

Arundinaria

Species

Arundinaria gigantea