Cane is any of various tall, perennial grasses with flexible, woody stalks, and more specifically from the genus Arundinaria.
Scientifically speaking, there are either of two genera from the family Poaceae. The genus Arundo is native from the Mediterranean Basin to the Far East. The genus Arundinaria is a bamboo (Bambuseae) found in the New World. Neither genus includes sugarcane (genus Saccharum, tribe Andropogoneae).
Cane commonly grows in large riparian stands known as canebrakes, found in toponyms throughout the Southern and Western United States; they are much like the tules (Schoenoplectus acutus) of California.
Depending on strength, cane can be fashioned for various purposes, including walking sticks, crutches, assistive canes or judicial or school canes. Where canes are used in corporal punishment, they 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 put to good use.
The English word derives from Old French cane, meaning 'sugarcane', from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα, from Aramaic qanhā, qanyā and from Akkadian qanû, meaning 'tube, reed'.