''Arundo'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of stout, perennial plants in the
grass family.
Description
''Arundo'' is native to southern
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, and much of temperate
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
as far east as
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. They grow to 3–6 m tall, occasionally to 10 m, with leaves 30–60 cm long and 3–6 cm broad.
; Species
[The Plant List search for Arundo]
/ref>
* '' Arundo collina'' Ten.
* '' Arundo donax'' L. – Giant cane, Spanish cane (south and east Mediterranean, to India; naturalised in many additional areas and often invasive)
* '' Arundo formosana'' Hack. – Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Philippines
* '' Arundo mediterranea'' Danin – Mediterranean
* '' Arundo micrantha'' Lam. – Mediterranean
* '' Arundo plinii'' Turra – Pliny's reed – Greece, Italy, Albania, Croatia
There are over 200 species once considered part of ''Arundo'' but now regarded as better suited to other genera:[ '']Achnatherum
''Achnatherum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family, Poaceae. It includes 20 species of needlegrass native to temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Several needlegrass species have been switched between ''Achnatherum'' and genus ''St ...
'', ''Agrostis
''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a Genetically modified organis ...
'', '' Ammophila'', '' Ampelodesmos'', '' Arthrostylidium'', '' Arundinaria'', '' Austroderia'', '' Bambusa'', '' Calamagrostis'', '' Calammophila'', '' Calamovilfa'', '' Chionochloa'', '' Chusquea'', '' Cinna'', '' Cortaderia'', '' Dendrocalamus'', '' Deschampsia'', '' Dupontia'', '' Gastridium'', '' Gigantochloa'', '' Graphephorum'', '' Gynerium'', '' Imperata'', '' Indocalamus'', '' Melica'', '' Miscanthus'', '' Molinia'', '' Muhlenbergia'', '' Neyraudia'', '' Phalaris'', '' Phragmites'', '' Poa'', '' Psammochloa'', '' Rytidosperma'', '' Saccharum'', '' Schizostachyum'', '' Scolochloa'', '' Stipa'', '' Thysanolaena'', '' Trisetaria''.
See also
* List of Poaceae genera
References
External links
Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Arundo''
Erowid Arundo Donax vault
{{Authority control
Arundinoideae
Energy crops
Poaceae genera