Switch Cane
Arundinaria tecta
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in pine savannas, pocosins, canebrakes, blackwater swamps, Piedmont seeps, generally (but not solely) in wetlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- About 25 feet
- Light
- Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to July
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 5 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 117 animals.
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopus
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow RailCoturnicops noveboracensis
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Widespread birds also seen here (17)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Arundinaria
- Amblyscirtes aesculapiusLace-Winged Roadside-Skipper, Cobweb Little Skipper
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Argillophora furcillaForked Halter Moth
- Crocidophora pustuliferalisScalloped Crocidophora
- Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
- Lethe creolaCreole Pearly Eye
- Lethe portlandiaSouthern Pearly Eye
- Poanes yehlYehl Skipper
- Franclemontia interrogans
1BirdsRecorded eating Arundinaria in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Ring-necked Pheasant2 diet records
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Arundinaria 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Ring-necked PheasantPhasianus colchicus
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “About 25 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications























