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Phragmites australis
Also called Reed Grass, Ditch Reed, Giant Reed, Phragmites, Common Reedgrass, Giant Reedgrass, Cane Grass
Common reed is a tall wetland grass that forms dense reed beds in shallow water and damp ground, spreading quickly by runners. It is a species, not a genus, and is grown mainly for water filtration, wildlife habitat, or thatching rather than as an ornamental houseplant.
Phragmites australis, the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to 2–6 metres (7–20 ft) tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide.
It is a helophyte (aquatic plant) occurring in shallow water in ponds, lakes, rivers, fens, ditches, and similar habitats, and it also tolerates brackish water in estuaries and lagoons, and on other wetlands (such as grazing marsh) which are occasionally inundated by the sea.
Common reed is the primary source of thatch for traditional roof thatching in Europe and beyond. The plant is extensively used in phytoremediation, or natural water treatment systems, since the root hairs are excellent at filtering out impurities in waste water. It also shows excellent potential as a source of biomass.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phragmites australis 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.
