Cane

For other uses, see Cane (disambiguation).

A thin, flexible cane designed for corporal punishment.

Cane is applied to both genera of tall, perennial grasses with flexible, woody stalks from the family Poaceae, that grow throughout the world. The genera include species of bamboo. The genus Arundo is native from the Mediterranean region to the Far East. Arundinaria is found in the New World. Cane commonly grows in large riparian stands known as canebrakes, found in toponyms throughout the Southern and Far Western United States; they are much like the tules of California.

Depending on flexibility, different kinds of canes may be fashioned for a variety of purposes, such as tools and walking sticks/crutches. Judicial canes or school canes, used in some countries for corporal punishment, must meet particular specifications, such as a high degree of flexibility. Cane historically has been used for many other purposes such as baskets, furniture, boats, roofs and wherever stiff, withy sticks can be used to advantage.

A brake of Giant Cane (Arundo donax)

Caning

Further information: Caning

Thin, flexible "canes" are implements for administering corporal punishment. These may be called school canes or judicial canes depending on size.

Walking canes

Further information: Walking stick

Cane is often used to make walking sticks, "hospital canes" and these are mostly mobility aids (

Further information: Cane (crutch)

). In North America, walking sticks are called "canes". An example of the "walking cane" contrasted with the cane of corporal punishment: in 1856, when Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was "caned", he was beaten with a wooden walking cane that splintered. "Canes" may also refer to the special white rods used by the blind.

Other uses

A Cherokee river cane basket.

Cane may be used for a variety of artistic and practical purposes, such as Indian baskets of North America. During the 18th and early 19th century, non-commission officers in various European armies could carry a cane to keep the troops in line. When not in use, it was hooked to a cross-belt or a button. Cane is used to describe furniture made of wicker. Cane also describes length of colored and/or patterned glass rod used in caneworking, a style of glassblowing.

Dancing with canes and sticks is seen in folkloric ritual; thisw has in turn given rise to the cane as a prop in entertainment. For example, such dances may involve twirling canes overhead and off to the sides, striking the cane on the floor, or balancing them on the head.

See also

• Candy cane
• Cane (crutch)
• Cane ethanol
• Caneworking
• Caning
• Caning (furniture)
• Cane gun
• Sugarcane
• Swordstick

External links

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Arundo
• Erowid Arundo Donax vault
• Fashionable Walking Canes & Walking Sticks — History of Canes Page Info (reprinted with permission)
• Description of Arundinaria
• Walking-Stick Papers (Robert Cortes Holliday, 1918) — Project Gutenberg ebook
• Modern cane fighting based on Oriental techniques
• Reprinted early 1900s information about the Vigny cane and associated techniques