Any idea what shrub this came from? It’s not even close to anything we’ve discussed so far…close maybe, but no cigar.
…Symphoricarpus?
It’s not in the honeysuckle family, we’ve discussed that and snowberry before. I’m sure some of you have had it growing in your gardens (even looks a little like dock root when it goes to seed). Many of you have probably even tried it in your pipes, but for some reason the possibility of it being used as drone material escaped you. It gets pretty high if left to mature, like 10-20 ft tall, and is commercially grown in some areas. When harvested and dried, bundles look much like cane. It’s jointed and grows pretty straight. It has a wide variety of uses…here’s a couple:
It grows like a weed here in Washington state.
It makes a good tobacco substitute when times are hard and it cures what ails ya .
I once saw a film where these two guys drive around in a van made of the stuff, trying to buy some of the stuff.
RORY
Wouldn’t it be amazing if it actually worked like a dream in the uilleann pipes? Gives pipe dream a whole new meaning. I haven’t tried it, but it should be easy to find some samples around here now as cannabis stems are often considered useless…leftover material.
That first pic above looks about right for drone material, at least worth a try, after you remove all that dirty tobacco looking pith. Some of those dead twigs look hollowed out already from natural decay. As for chanter reeds, in this pic it looks a little woody, but the material is known to be fibrous, very stringy, as is sambucous nigra, and even arundo donax to some extent. Perhaps the center would need to be drilled out first to thin down the walls.
Off topic, but this would be snowberry tea? Looks delish.
Umm…our fine lady here seems all too happy to report this ain’t no ordinary snowberry or honeysuckle tea. This may be unchartered territory for reed making material unless, of course, the old timers have been holding out on us. 
“This bud’s for you!”
Colorado tea? lol 
Jeez, you guys.
Well, OTOH maybe now you’ll stop being surly.
In Canada, hemp is a (legal) agricultural product, grown for oil, seeds, and fiber. See the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance for information and links. No mention of reeds.
Haven’t found any farms near here that grow this (or will admit to it, anyway), but there are some in other parts of the province.