Common Reed (Phragmites australis)
- Family: Grass (Poaceae)
- Flowering: July-September.
- Field Marks: This grass is distinguished by its huge stature, up to 12 feet tall, and its large panicle of spikelets.
- Habitat: Along streams, around ponds, sloughs, reclaimed stripmine areas.
- Habit: Robust perennial herb with stout, creeping rhizomes, forming dense colonies.
- Stems: Erect, smooth, up to 12 feet tall.
- Leaves: Flat, elongated, smooth, up to 2 1/2 inches broad.
- Flowers: 3-7 flowers per spikelet, with many spikelets arranged in a large, dense, much-branched panicle up to 1 1/4 feet long; spikelets 3/4 inch long, bearing numerous silky hairs.
- Stamens: 3.
- Pistils: Ovary superior.
- Notes: This species is frequently planted for stripmine reclamation.
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