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Various natural shoots arrow material, where it grows, how to ID them all.

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ssrhythm:
Howdy.  So, I'm relatively new to primitive archery building and hunting...started making stuff to hunt with 2 years ago, and this is my first year hunting with equipment I built.  As far as arrows go, I'm making rivercane arrows from a batch of cane I cut while visiting SC where I grew up.  I vastly underestimated the number of pieces I needed to cut to end up with an adequate amount of suitable shafts.  I ended up with 20 or so shafts that, depending on point weight, would tune well to my bow.  So, now I am trying to figure out what all I have around me and can find in places I visit annually that I can make arrows out of.  I'm currently living in SE Wyoming.  I have a couple of shrubs in my front yard (rental) that I think are vibernum...they have growth that looks like they will make arrows, and I am going to cut some next year (need to grow a bit longer).  I will post pics to see if someone can ID the bushes.

That said, I visit SC at least annually, and I visit my buddy in the mountains and my family in the midlands.  The cane I cut was from midlands riverbottom.  I've read that there are three varieties of rivercane and the "hill-cane" is the best for arrows.  How, other than location, can I identify the hill variety?  Do I need to be spending more time looking for and harvesting cane when I'm in the mountains vs going after the midlands cane?  I found that the midland cane had more severe nodal angles that were prone to failure when trying to get them straight.

Is there vibernum in SE wyoming, and if so, is it any good for shafts?  There appears to be a vast variety of species of vibernum.  Which is the best for arrows, how do I identify it, and where does it grow?  So, you know I visit SC and live in WY...I also go to Ohio and Indiana each year to hunt and cut Osage.  What do I need to be looking for a regarding arrow shafts in central IN and SE Ohio...and how do I ID it?

I can't remember exactly where I've run into wild rose, but after looking at pics, I can certainly remember times where I've either run into it (literally) and cursed it harshly or saw it and thought..."thank God I didn't catch that in the face walking in."  I'm sure I'll find it in SC or OH or IN, and it is an option that really intrigues me...don't know why, but I think there is something really fascinating about the possibility of making arrows from rose shoots.  As far as ID goes, I'll likely run into it in the fall when I'm hunting...what do I need to know about rose?  I figure that if I run into a long, straight, evil looking thorny shoot, it'll likely make a good arrow...am I wrong? 

In a nutshell... In Wyoming and surrounding areas...what do I need to be looking for and how do ID it.
Same for SC, IN, and OH.  Any help/advice appreciated.

Pat B:
Where in the SC Mountains and midlands?
Switch cane(Arundaneria tecta) is probably what you are cutting in the midlands of SC. It grows to 6'-7' in height and about 3/8" or slightly less in diameter and makes very good arrows. Hill cane(A. appalachiana)only grows in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It is very similar to switch cane in size but is deciduous(other native canes are not), it's culm(cane) is rounder, has denser walls, smaller sulcus(indentation at a node) and less pronounced nodes. River cane (A. gigantia) is the 3rd native cane. It grows to about 16' tall and is 3/4" in diameter. You can make arrows from the smaller diameter at the top of the culms but the nodes and sulcus are more prominent so less appropriate for arrows. Many folks use the name "river cane" for most other canes used for arrows, native or not... a generic term.
 I don't know about Wyoming vegetation but you should be able to find native viburnum in SC(blackhaw and arrowwood)mountains and maybe midlands too. These or other viburnums should be in OH and IN too. Sourwood(Oxydendrum arboreum) is my favorite shoot shaft and it grows in the mountains and midlands of SC. Also look for red osier dogwood in OH and IN in wet wooded areas and silky dogwood in SC along creeks and rivers..

Hawkdancer:
Might find red osier in the riparian zone, also river birch, likely some wild rose, mountain mahogany, service berry, as well as some landscape replant shrubs that could be thinned for shafts.  A Wyoming Tree/shrub I'd book would be handy.  Where in SE Wyoming are you?  I am down the road in Chappell, NE, 120 miles east of Cheyenne.
Hawkdancer

ssrhythm:
I’m in Wheatland since 2018, and I plan to be here for the long haul.  Found out by pure chance that this is likely the most underrated whitetail spot on Earth.  Merriams in spring and fall, cranes, & ducks...not to mention the big game Wyoming is actually known for...this place is Heaven.  I’m stuck within a 20 minute radius of town and can only hunt where I have cell service, because I’m on call 24/7 until March 1, yet I’ve had the best deer season in all of my 52 years.  Once I figure out where snd when to find morels and learn which boletes to pick and figure out which shoots to cut snd work into arrows, I’ll be good to go.  I know I’ve seen the red ozier dogwood in IN and OH.  I’ll figure out stuff to use out here.  I think I’ve been cutting switch and giganticus in the midlands.  My buddy lives on the tugaloo river and is just a hop away from the Chatooga, so the cane I’ve seen there must be hull cane.
Thanks for the feedback.

ssrhythm:
Can anyone ID these bushes?

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