JACKPOT! (i think) and cane questions. (pics)

[recurve shooter]

ok. so today after school i spent about two hours cutting cane. (yes aero, some are yours) there are two patches near my house. one is about an acer, the other is just a big batch around some kinda contraption in the ground. i live in south louisiana, near the lakes, and i havnt ever cut any cane like these two before. one is nice and tall and all pretty close to the same diameter with nodes 10 or 12 inches apart, with a verry small to no hollow in the middle. these came from the small patch. the others i have deemed useless. they have huge hollows, are short, have a steep taper, and nodes are between 3 and 6 inches appart. hopeing yall could tell me what you think about my harvest and maby what kinda sticks they are. enjoy.

ok this is a pic of the patch of good stuff.


this is what i left with.


these are the big ends of the good stuff. see? no hollow. 


these are the leaves of the same stuff. not sure if this will be of any help with the id but i figured i throw it in.


and this is a pic of the junk. not verry good. sorry. i got about fourty pices of this stuff.


ok when i got home i spent a few hours stripping the little branches off of some of the good stuff and some of the junk. here are a few comparisons.

these are the big ends of one of each. one of the good stuff, and one of the junk. see the difference?


and these are the nodes. there are i think four nodes on the junk to one node of the good stuff.


this is a little less that half of the good stuff i cut. this is 38 pieces, so i m guessing i have between 80 and 90 pieces.


so what do yall think? what are they? any good?

[aero86]

Looks like you got a ton!  Ill have to wait till work tomorrow to look at the pics closer.  I've found a couple places that bamboo grow, but no cane.  Node spacing like you found is great, the least amount the easier to straighten!

[recurve shooter]

i believe i will be able to get 20 or 30 to you to play with. it should be enough to decide what you think about the stuff. gotta cut some more this weekend.  man i though id have more replies by now. 

[Pat B]

If it is a clumping type bamboo and not the typical spreading type it might be Bambusa multiplex, an excellent arrow material.      Bambusa grows about 12' to 15' tall with almost perfectly round internode section and nodes spaced 10" to 15" apart and  a small if any hole in the center.
  It transplants easily by digging large clumps. Don't cut the canes on the transplant as it will recover quicker if they are left full length.

[recurve shooter]

thanks Pat. sounds like what i have. whatever it is im gunna hit the patch again sunday.

[Pat B]

Makes good fishing poles too! 

[aero86]

i wanna transplant some!

[Pat B]

The bambusa I had came from near Hilton Head Is SC. The clump was 50 to 60 years old(maybe older) and only about 8' to 10' in diameter. My friend dug it with a backhoe, busted(hacked and chopped  ) into smaller clumps(about a foot or 2) and planted a 100' hedge of the stuff. Anytime I visit Richard I cut more bambusa. Where I live it gets too cold for it or I would have transplanted it years ago.
   In an old copy of PA magazine Jay Massey wrote an article about using river cane for arrows. He was visiting his wife's family on HHIs, SC and from the pic he had of the clump and the cane shafts he was straightening in the article I'd say he was using bambusa and not river cane. 

[aero86]

how can you tell the difference between the bamboos?  there is some growing locally around here, i may stop by and see if i can grab some and transplant it!

[Pat B]

You had better check the type and growth habit before transplanting it. Most bamboos will take over and can be destructive around driveways and foundations as well as covering your yard and your neighbors yard. It is very hard to control once it takes hold.

[mullet]

 That first one looks like Tonkin to me. The second one doesn't look like Boo. I saw some like that when I was working in LA. and it was real thin.

[stringstretcher]

Does tonkin grow in the US?

[El Destructo]

Tonkin grows in the US...just not a Native Plant...but it will grow here....and that last Picture looks like Tonkin...and Phragmite

[recurve shooter]

well whatever it is, after two days after school working on them, i got a hundred and 3 shafts cut and ready to go.

i have a concern with it though. the fat end is 7/16. its kinda big. i cut the nocke end small, but thick enough to make self nocks, and they are i think 11/32, which as small as i could get it where it looked like it would still work. these pieces were 10 or 15 foot long, and they still had that pretty steep taper . dont know what they are gunna spine out at, but its as small as i could get it. i told the guys im sending it to if it dont work, let me know and i'll find some actual rivercane.

[mullet]

 Yea, Phragmite. I couldn't remember the name, thanks, Mike.