The plant around us. Volume 1 The plant around us. Volume I | Page 16

Arundo donax
English: Giant cane It is a plant similar to bamboo, which is
Spanish: Caña común different because each node leaves a single
leaf that sheathes the stem. It reaches 3-6 m
height, has a thick and hollow stem.
They are abundant in the Mediterranean region
and middle east Asia.
Flowers
It flowers in late summer and autumn, but are
usually seedless or with seeds that are rarely
fertile. It mostly reproduces vegetatively by
tough, fibrous underground rhizomes that form
knotty, spreading mats which penetrate deep
into the soil, up to 1 metre deep.
The flowers are in a large panicle of violet or
yellow spikes of 3-6 dm in length. Each spikelet
have one or two flowers.
Leaves
The grey-green leaves are
alternate, 30 to 60 centimetres
long and 2 to 6 centimetres wide
with a tapered tip, and have a
hairy tuft at the base.