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Phalaris arundinacea
Also called Reed canary grass, Reed-grass, reed-canary grass, Gardener's Garters, Ribbon Grass, Variegated Grass, Variegated Ribbon Grass, Zebra Grass
A tall perennial grass, up to about 2 m, that spreads by thick underground rhizomes and often forms dense single-species stands in wet ground. Grown for its striped or variegated cultivars, but it is invasive in wetlands, so plant with care.
Phalaris arundinacea, or reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial grass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. Other common names for the plant include gardener's-garters and ribbon grass in English, alpiste roseau in French, Rohrglanzgras in German, kusa-yoshi in Japanese, caniço-malhado in Portuguese, and hierba cinta and pasto cinto in Spanish.
In many places, P. arundinacea is an invasive species in wetlands, particularly in disturbed areas. It has been reported as an invasive weed in floodplains, riverside meadows, and other wetland habitats around the world. When P. arundinacea invades a wetland, it inhibits native vegetation and reduces biological diversity. It alters the entire ecosystem. The grass propagates by seed and rhizome, and once established, is difficult to eradicate.
A number of cultivars of P. arundinacea have been selected for use as ornamental plants, including variegated (striped) cultivars – sometimes called ribbon grass – such as 'Castor' and 'Feesey'. The latter has a pink tinge to the leaves. When grown, although drought-tolerant, it likes abundant water and can even be grown as an aquatic plant.
Timothy canarygrass · Bulbous canarygrass · Shortspike canarygrass · Canary grass · Carolina canarygrass · Hood canarygrass · Canarygrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phalaris arundinacea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
