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Summary
Physical Characteristics
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.
UK Hardiness Map
US Hardiness Map
Synonyms
P. communis. P. vulgaris. Arundo phragmites.
Plant Habitats
Pond; Bog Garden;
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Leaves Root Seed Shoots Stem
Edible Uses: Condiment Drink Sweetener
Root - raw or cooked like potatoes[2, 13, 74, 102, 106, 183]. It contains up to 5% sugar. The flavour and texture are best when the root is young and still growing[144]. It can be dried, ground coarsely and used as a porridge[12, 46, 62]. In Russia they are harvested and processed into starch[269]. Young shoots - raw or cooked[61, 62, 102, 179]. They are best if used before the leaves form, when they are really delicious[144]. They can be used like bamboo shoots[183]. 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[183]. 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[269]. Seed - raw or cooked[257]. It can be ground into a powder and used as a flour[57, 62, 102, 106]. The seed is rather small and difficult to remove from the husk but it is said to be very nutritious[183]. A sugar is extracted from the stalks or wounded stems[2, 5, 62, 95]. A sweet liquorice-like taste[95], it can be eaten raw or cooked[62]. The stems can be boiled in water and then the water boiled off in order to obtain the sugar[178]. A sugary gum that exudes from the stems can be rolled into balls and eaten as sweets[183]. A powder extracted from the dried stems can be moistened and roasted like marshmallow[62, 95, 102, 183].
References More on Edible Uses
Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Antiasthmatic Antidiarrhoeal Antidote Antiemetic Antipyretic Antitussive Cholera Depurative
Diuretic Febrifuge Febrifuge Lithontripic Miscellany Odontalgic Refrigerant
Sedative Sialagogue Skin Stomachic Styptic Urinary
The leaves are used in the treatment of bronchitis and cholera, the ash of the leaves is applied to foul sores[218]. A decoction of the flowers is used in the treatment of cholera and food poisoning[218]. The ashes are styptic[218]. The stem is antidote, antiemetic, antipyretic and refrigerant[218]. The root is antiasthmatic, antiemetic, antipyretic, antitussive, depurative, diuretic, febrifuge, lithontripic, sedative, sialogogue and stomachic[147, 176, 218, 238]. 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)[238, 257]. Externally, it is mixed with gypsum and used to treat halitosis and toothache[238]. The root is harvested in the autumn and juiced or dried for use in decoctions[238].
References More on Medicinal Uses
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Other Uses
Alcohol Basketry Biomass Broom Cork Dye Fencing Fertilizer Fibre Fodder Fuel Furniture Green manure Insulation Miscellany Paper Pencil Soil stabilization String Teeth Thatching Weaving
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[269]. The plant is also converted into alcohol (for use as a fuel), is burnt as a fuel and is made into fertilizer[238]. 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[269]. The pentosan content increases throughout the growing period and is maximum in the mature reed[269]. The reed can be used also for the preparation of absolute alcohol, feed yeast and lactic acid[269]. The stems are useful in the production of homogeneous boards[269]. They can also be processed into a fine fibrous material suitable as a filler in upholstery[269]. The stems have many uses. They are used for thatching roofs[1, 46, 74, 106]. It can last for 100 years[169]. 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[13, 74, 99, 102, 115, 257, 269]. The stem contains over 50 percent cellulose and is useful in the manufacture of pulps for rayon and paper[269]. The fibre from the leaves and stems is used for making paper[189]. 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[189]. A fibre obtained from the plant is used for making string[95, 106]. The flowering stalks yield a fibre suitable for rope making[269]. The leaves are used in basket making and for weaving mats etc[169, 238]. A light green dye is obtained from the flowers[6, 115]. Freshly cut shoots are a good green manure[74] (Does this man as a soil mulch?[K]). The inflorescences are used as brooms[74]. The plant can be used as a cork substitute[74]. No further details. The plant is mixed with mud to make a plaster for walls[145]. Pens for writing on parchment were cut and fashioned from the thin stems of this reed[269], whilst the stems were also used as a linear measuring device[269]. The plant has a very vigorous and running rootstock, it is useful for binding the soil along the sides of streams etc[115]. It is planted for flood control since it stablizes the banks and gradually builds up soil depth, thus raising the level of the bank.
Special Uses
Carbon Farming
References More on Other Uses
Cultivation details
Fodder: Bank Industrial Crop: Biomass Minor Global Crop
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[162, 200, 269]. Plants are tolerant of moderately saline water[169, 269]. 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[269]. Plants are hardy to about -20°c[200]. 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[200, 238, 260]. Difficult to eradicate once established, it is unsuitable for planting into small spaces[200, 238, 269]. The flowering heads are often used in dried flower arrangements[238]. There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value[238].
Carbon Farming
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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.
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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
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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.
References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information
Temperature Converter
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Plant Propagation
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.
Other Names
If available other names are mentioned here
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.
Native Range
TEMPERATE ASIA: Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russian Federation (Checheno-Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karacaevo-Cerkesskaja Respublika, Krasnodar, North Ossetia, Stavropol), Russian Federation (Altay, Buryatia, Chita, Gorno-Altay, Irkutsk, Kemerovskaja oblast, Krasnoyarsk, Kurganskaja oblast, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Tyumen, Tyva, Respublika, Yakutia-Sakha), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Russian Federation (Habarovskij kraj, Primorye, Amur, Kamcatskij kraj, Sakhalin), China, Korea, Japan TROPICAL ASIA: Pakistan NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada (Northwest Territories (southwest), Québec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia), United States (Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Alabama, Arkansas (north), Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah), Mexico (Baja California (Norte), Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatán) SOUTHERN AMERICA: Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Martinique, United States (Puerto Rico), Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay AUSTRALASIA: Australia (Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia (south), Northern Territory) EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Russian Federation (European part), Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Russian Federation (Kalmykija, Respublika, Astrakhan, Rostov, Saratov, Volgogradskaja oblast), Ukraine (incl. Krym), Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal AFRICA: Cabo Verde, Spain (Canarias), Portugal (Madeira Islands), Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Kenya, Cameroon (north), Gambia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa (Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal), Madagascar
Weed Potential
Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section.
Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : Status: Least Concern
Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.
Expert comment
Author
(Cav.)Trin. ex Steud.
Botanical References
17200
Links / References
For a list of references used on this page please go here
A special thanks to Ken Fern for some of the information used on this page.
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