 The species is known as "cana-do-rio", "cana-flecha", "cana-frecha", "ubá" and "cana-brava" in Brazil, "caña brava" in Peru and Colombia, "chuchío" in eastern Bolivia, and "tañil" in Guatemala and other Spanish speaking countries.It is known in English as "wildcane" or "wild cane", while "arrow cane" is less common ("sagitta" is Latin for "arrow").The stems are straight and erect, the lower part is covered with "vainas" from the fallen leaves, while in the middle part the leaves are arranged in fan shaped groups.