Common reed (Phragmites australis)
Keys to ID:
- Tall grass, up to 15 feet in height.
- Dense, fluffy purple to grey flower heads July to October.
Identification:
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Growth Form: Grass
- Flowers: Dense, fluffy purple to grey flower heads appear July to October. Persist throughout the winter.
- Seeds/Fruits: The seeds are brown, light weight, and about 0.3 in inch long.
- Leaves: 6 to 24 inches long; wide, flat, and glabrous. Light to medium dull green leaves turn brown in autumn.
- Stems: Forms dense thickets
- Roots: Rhizomatous
- Propagation: Mostly from roots, though some from seed. (TNC 2006).Vertical rhizomes often produce horizontal rhizome buds and these rhizomes provide the plant with a large absorbent surface that brings the plant nutrients from water or soils. The aerial shoots arise from the rhizomes. Following seed set, nutrients are translocated down into the rhizomes and the aboveground portions of the plant die back for the season (Belliston et al. 2004).
Control:
Mech: Physically removing new shoots from plants has been effective in reducing spread of this plant.