Bamboo vs. Rushes

[onearmfrog]

On my neverending quest to
find bamboo canes for future
reed making, I came across
a nice field of what I thought
was bamboo, but is actually
"rushes" (I'm not sure if that's
the correct translation, but it
looks a lot like bamboo).

Now, my question is - Let's say I let them
dry up for a few months - Will they
be usable for reed material or should
I just use them for my roof?

Also, if they do - Most of them are around
2.5cm in diameter. Is that good enough for
reed-making?

[waymer]

reeds are made from Arundo Donax not Bamboo
I made the same mistake myself once.
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/art/print ... leTypeId=1

[onearmfrog]

I was pretty sure it's bamboo!

It kind of looks like the plant I
cut, it was around 2.5m tall
and with those kind of leafs
on it.

If it's the same thing, I hit
a gold-mine!

[waymer]

Bamboo has many small leaves
Donax has long leaves that look like corn leaves

Here is a picture of Bamboo
http://www.freenaturepictures.com/asset ... amboo1.jpg

You want to find donax that is not to hard if you can stick your thumb nail into it and make a nice crisp dent that should be good .
Test many of the stalks before you cut them. Also look for donax that is dead standing not actively growing or you will have to let it cure (dry)

[onearmfrog]

So it's definitely not bamboo... I had to cut off long
leafs. Most of the dead ones looked too dry
so I took the ones who were greenish-yellow.

This is what I've got:



What do you recon?

[AlanB]

Frog,

Try to contact Ted Anderson who is on this board occasionally, and the mooderator Joseph E Smith, they have experience in gathering and curing cane. It's not an easy process. And these guys know how it's done.

If you can post pics of the standing plant, identification would be a lot easier I'm sure.

You could always roof your house and tear it down in a couple of years?

25mm diam., is just about good, any wider and you'd be in trouble. I use 23 -25mm mostly.

[waymer]

From the photo it looks like donax.
you want light colored, yellow, completely dry/cured donax. Not green.
Some reed makers cut donax and let it dry for several years before making reeds with it.
AlanB is right it is dificult to make a reed but you can do it. and even if you fail to ever make a "great" reed the process of making reeds comes in handy when you need to adjust a reed.
Donax is a strange plant one will make a good reed while one growing next to it will not. Trial and error is the only way to know for sure.

[nadav]

there is a difference between Bamboo ("במבוק") and what we called Cane ("קנה סוף " or Rush.) Arundo Donax is a some kind of Rush. (altough in proper english cane is just the definition of the shape, and Bamboo is a cane too)

It's not Donax, but other kind of Rush, for my knowledge. but maybe suitable too make reeds too.
Arundo Donax is not native in Israel, and what we've talked about is trying the Israeli cane for reed-making...

[waymer]

Donax is not native to California or Florida but it was imported and thrives here. Are you sure this a different plant?
I would imagine it could be successfully grown in Israel

[djm]

There are hundreds of kinds of plants under the name "rush" just as there are many many different kinds of bamboo. I think that Nadav and onearmfrog are in a better position to go find out what kind of plant it is than us guessing from the other side of the planet.

As to its suitability for making reeds, we have to remember that reeds were first invented somewhere around the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, so maybe it has been tried before. Once the name of the plant can be verified there may be a chance to discover if someone is already using this stuff for some local musical instrument.

djm

[Joseph E. Smith]

Reeds are made from Arundo Donax (L), a giant grass. Bamboo is another critter altogether and is far to woody for reed making.

What I see in the photo above does resemble Arundo Donax, it is tough to say for certain without seeing the entire plant with the leaves still on it.

Also, cane needs to be dead and dry (or "cured", at least 2-3 years) before it can be used for reeds. Using green cane is inadvisable.

[Joseph E. Smith]

Here are a few images that may help indentify things. This is Arundo Donax (L).






edited to add: Detail of the leaf structure...

[onearmfrog]

I'll take a picture and upload it.

I suppose I could grab me some dead
canes, but they're dead dead, and I'm
talking absolute yellow and dry.

[Joseph E. Smith]

I suppose I could grab me some dead
canes, but they're dead dead, and I'm
talking absolute yellow and dry.

Dead, yellow and dry is what you are looking for.

Arundo likes it wet, like in a roadside ditch or along the banks of a river or lake, any where it can get a constant source of water. It also prefers a sandy soil... not to say it won't grow in other varieties of soil, but it does very well in a sandy loam. It also has a high tolerence to salt water, so growing near an estuary near a source of salt water is also a good place to look.

Hope this helps some.

[nadav]

I'm pretty sure Arundo Donax will catch pretty good here, as we have a good climate for such plants.

with the few slips I've found, which was dead and dry, the fibers of the cane was bigger and much softer, and i couldn't get a sharp result on the reeds. this is caused by my poor reed-making ability as well.

I will defenitly take more shots before giving up..
but all in all, I think we have a potential here... who knows? maybe someday will put Joe out of business!