Phragmites australis (Phragmites)

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Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.

Phragmites, common reed

The common reed is found in wetlands through much of North America and the rest of the world. It is found throughout the conterminous United States. It is invasive, or otherwise undesirable, in many states along the Atlantic coast, as well as much of the midwest and parts of the Pacific northwest.

Plants: Phragmites looks like (and is) a giant grass, with blades up to 1½′ (50 cm) long. It can grow as high as 20′ (6.1 m), occurring in dense stands (up to 20 stems per square foot) and spreading very quickly. I have seen it pushing its way through tar on roadsides in western Massachusetts.

Leaves: The leaves—grass blades on steroids—are 7–24 ⨉ ⅜–2″ (18–60 ⨉ 1–6 cm).

Flowers: Dark purple, growing in dense spikes 6–16″ (15–40 cm) long.

Fruits: Flowerheads become grayer as they mature, growing long silky hairs atop tiny seeds that are wind-dispersed.

Habitats: It is found near fresh and brackish water, and may grow in standing water or even as free-floating mats.

Online References:

Wikipedia

The USDA Plants Database

Plants for a Future

Purdue University's Center for New Crops and Plants Products

References:

Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Common Weeds of the United States, Dover Publications, Inc., 1971

Uva, Richard H.; Neal, Joseph C.; DiTomaso, Joseph M., Weeds of the Northeast, Comstock Publishing Associates, 1997, p. 76

Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. var. berlandieri (Fourn.) C.F. Reed
Phragmites communis Trin.
Phragmites communis Trin. ssp. berlandieri (Fourn.) Á. Löve & D. Löve
Phragmites communis Trin. var. berlandieri (Fourn.) Fernald
Phragmites phragmites (L.) Karst.， nom. inval.

8/1/2009 · Falmouth, Maine

9/14/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm)

8/1/2009 · Falmouth, Maine

5/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts ID is uncertain

6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 6″ (13 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

7/27/2024 · Moh-He-Con-Nuck Nature Preserve, Selkirk, New York

11/7/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 46 cm)

9/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm)

1/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (45 × 30 cm) ID is uncertain

6/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 3½″ (15 × 9.6 cm)

5/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (37 × 48 cm)

7/27/2024 · Moh-He-Con-Nuck Nature Preserve, Selkirk, New York

6/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts

6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts ID is uncertain

12/13/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 13″ (23 × 32 cm)

4/12/2011 · ≈ 13 × 9″ (32 × 22 cm)

7/27/2024 · Moh-He-Con-Nuck Nature Preserve, Selkirk, New York

8/1/2009 · Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 4 × 2½′ (120 × 80 cm)

7/27/2024 · Moh-He-Con-Nuck Nature Preserve, Selkirk, New York

10/27/2006 · Edgartown, Massachusetts · By Philip A. Despo ID is uncertain

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Commelinidae	Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
Order	Cyperales	Flowering plants including grasses
Family	Poaceae	Grasses (but not sedges or rushes)
Genus	Phragmites	From the Greek phragma, “a fence or screen, hedge,” hence growing in hedges
Species	australis	Southern

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Phragmites australis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.