Common Reed, American common reed, Hybrid common reed, European common reed, Subtropical common re
Phragmites australis

Family: Poaceae or Gramineae

What it is like

Phragmites australis is a PERENNIAL growing to 3.6 m (11ft) by 3 m (9ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil and can grow in water. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Height (m): 3.6

Where it is found

Shallow water and wet soil, avoiding extremely poor soils and very acid habitats.

Cosmopolitan, in most regions of the world, including Britain, but absent from the Amazon Basin.

Conservation Status: Status: Least Concern

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Balkans, Bosnia, Britain, Burma, Canada, Central America*, China, East Africa, Estonia, Europe, Guiana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Lesser Antilles*, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, SE Asia, Senegal, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America*, Suriname, Swaziland, Tasmania*, USA, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies*, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 5

Root - raw or cooked like potatoes. It contains up to 5% sugar. The flavour and texture are best when the root is young and still growing. It can be dried, ground coarsely and used as a porridge. In Russia they are harvested and processed into starch. Young shoots - raw or cooked. They are best if used before the leaves form, when they are really delicious. They can be used like bamboo shoots. The partly unfolded leaves can be used as a potherb and the Japanese dry young leaves, grind them into a powder and mix them with cereal flour when making dumplings. The stems are reported to contain 4.8 g protein, 0.8 g fat, 90.0 g total carbohydrate, 41.2 g fiber, and 4.4 g ash. Seed - raw or cooked. It can be ground into a powder and used as a flour. The seed is rather small and difficult to remove from the husk but it is said to be very nutritious. A sugar is extracted from the stalks or wounded stems. A sweet liquorice-like taste, it can be eaten raw or cooked. The stems can be boiled in water and then the water boiled off in order to obtain the sugar. A sugary gum that exudes from the stems can be rolled into balls and eaten as sweets. A powder extracted from the dried stems can be moistened and roasted like marshmallow.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.

Condiment: the various plants that are used as flavourings, either as herbs, spices or condiments.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Sweetener: includes sugar substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The leaves are used in the treatment of bronchitis and cholera, the ash of the leaves is applied to foul sores. A decoction of the flowers is used in the treatment of cholera and food poisoning. The ashes are styptic. The stem is antidote, antiemetic, antipyretic and refrigerant. The root is antiasthmatic, antiemetic, antipyretic, antitussive, depurative, diuretic, febrifuge, lithontripic, sedative, sialogogue and stomachic. It is taken internally in the treatment of diarrhoea, fevers, vomiting, coughs with thick dark phlegm, lung abscesses, urinary tract infections and food poisoning (especially from sea foods). Externally, it is mixed with gypsum and used to treat halitosis and toothache. The root is harvested in the autumn and juiced or dried for use in decoctions.

Antiasthmatic: Treats asthma.

Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.

Antidote: Counters poisoning.

Antiemetic: Prevents vomiting.

Antipyretic: Treats fevers. See Febrifuge.

Antitussive: Prevents or relieves coughing.

Cholera: Used in the treatment of cholera - an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.

Depurative: Eliminates toxins and purifies the system, especially the blood.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Lithontripic: Removes stones from the kidney, bladder etc.

Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.

Odontalgic: Treats toothache (temporary measure only) and other problems of the teeth and gums.

Refrigerant: Cools the body.

Sedative: Gently calms, reducing nervousness, distress and irritation.

Sialagogue: Stimulates the secretion of saliva.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.

Styptic: An astringent that stops bleeding by contracting the blood vessels.

Urinary: Treats urinary problems, including urinary tract infection (UTI).

Other

Rating: 4

The common reed can provide a large quantity of biomass and this is used in a wide variety of ways as listed below. Annual yields of 40 - 63 tonnes per hectare have been reported. The plant is also converted into alcohol (for use as a fuel), is burnt as a fuel and is made into fertilizer. The plant is rich in pentosans and may be used for the production of furfural - the nodes and sheaths yield 6.6% whilst the underground parts over 13% of furfural. The pentosan content increases throughout the growing period and is maximum in the mature reed. The reed can be used also for the preparation of absolute alcohol, feed yeast and lactic acid. The stems are useful in the production of homogeneous boards. They can also be processed into a fine fibrous material suitable as a filler in upholstery. The stems have many uses. They are used for thatching roofs. It can last for 100 years. The stems and leaves are also used for building dwellings, lattices, fences, arrows by Indians, and for weaving mats, carrying nets, basket making, insulation, fuel, as a cork substitute etc. The stem contains over 50 percent cellulose and is useful in the manufacture of pulps for rayon and paper. The fibre from the leaves and stems is used for making paper. The fibre is 0.8 - 3.0 mm long and 5.0 - 30.5µm in diameter. The stems and leaves are harvested in the summer, cut into usable pieces and soaked for 24 hours in clear water. They are then cooked for 2 hours with lye and beaten in a blender. The fibre makes a khaki paper. A fibre obtained from the plant is used for making string. The flowering stalks yield a fibre suitable for rope making. The leaves are used in basket making and for weaving mats etc. A light green dye is obtained from the flowers. Freshly cut shoots are a good green manure (Does this man as a soil mulch?). The inflorescences are used as brooms. The plant can be used as a cork substitute. No further details. The plant is mixed with mud to make a plaster for walls. Pens for writing on parchment were cut and fashioned from the thin stems of this reed, whilst the stems were also used as a linear measuring device. The plant has a very vigorous and running rootstock, it is useful for binding the soil along the sides of streams etc. It is planted for flood control since it stablizes the banks and gradually builds up soil depth, thus raising the level of the bank.

Alcohol: Used for fuel etc. (this is wood alcohol, it is not the sort that can be drunk.

Basketry: Plant used in making baskets and other items such as chairs. Includes plants that are only used as an ornamental addition.

Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.

Broom: Used for sweeping the floor etc.

Cork: Including any plants used as a cork substitute. Cork is used for insulation (sound or heat), fire-retardant, bottle stops etc.

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

Fencing: Plants that can be used for fencing.

Fertilizer: Provides a concentrated solid plant food.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Green manure: Fast-growing plants that can be used to increase the fertility of the soil.

Insulation: Providing insulation against extremes of temperature, sound or electricity.

Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.

Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.

Pencil: A couple of plants especially mentioned for making the tubes that pencil leads fit into.

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.

Teeth: Plants used to clean and care for the teeth.

Thatching: Used for making thatched roofs.

Weaving: Items such as grass and palm leaves that are woven together for making mats, baskets etc. See also Basket making and Fibre.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

A very easily grown plant that thrives in deep moisture retentive soils such as marshes and swamps, whilst it also grows well along the sides of streams, lakes and ponds, in shallow water, ditches and wet wastelands. Plants are tolerant of moderately saline water. The plant is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 31 to 241cm, an annual temperature in the range of 6.6 to 26.6°C and a pH of 4.8 to 8.2. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. This species is very fast growing with a very vigorous and invasive running rootstock that can be 10 metres or more long, it can form very large stands in wetlands. Difficult to eradicate once established, it is unsuitable for planting into small spaces. The flowering heads are often used in dried flower arrangements. There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value.

Propagating it: Seed - surface sow in spring in a light position. Keep the soil moist by emmersing the pot in 3cm of water. Germination usually takes place quite quickly. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring. Very simple, any part of the root that has a growth bud will grow into a new plant. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Best place to grow: Pond; Bog Garden;

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 4-10

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist, wet, water

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Common Reed, Bennels, Cane, Dambu, Dila, Nanfang luwei, Reed grass, Roog, Traska, Tropical reed, Wild broomcorn, #a, #aa.b, bous, bulrush, canico, caniço, carricillo, carrizo común, common reed, ditch reed, eenbungu, fluitjiesgras, fluitjiesriet, galdae, ghab, giant reed, giant reedgrass, gondse, igagamlambo, ingcongolo, ingqulwane, ishani, isiqandolo, ka.mbu, leklata, lu gen, lu jing, lu wei, lugen, luthanga, lúgen, massahunga, massangesse, matete, mbu, molimahali, olumbungu, oruu, phragmite commun, phragmites, phragmitis rhizoma, qasba, qassab, reed, reed grass, reed rhizome, rhizoma phragmitis, ried, riet, roseau cane, roseau commun, ruu, schilf, schilfrohr, tete, tra’a, umcoboka, umhlanga, uqobose, vaderlandsgras, vlakkiesgras, yellow cane, ||'ang|'o, ||'eng|'o.

Synonyms

P. communis. P. vulgaris. Arundo phragmites.

Common Reed, American common reed, Hybrid common reed, European common reed, Subtropical common re Phragmites australis