Phragmites
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''This article is about common reed. For other plants called "reed", see [[Reed (plant)]].''
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Phragmites''
| image = Phragmites australis Schilfrohr.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''Phragmites australis'' seed head in winter
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Poales]]
| familia = [[Poaceae]]
| genus = '''''Phragmites'''''
| species = '''''P. australis'''''
| binomial = ''Phragmites australis''
| binomial_authority = ([[Cav.]]) [[Carl Bernhard von Trinius|Trin.]] ex [[Steud.]]
}}
'''''Phragmites australis''''', the '''common reed''', is a large [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[Poaceae|grass]] found in [[wetland]]s throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. It is generally regarded as the sole species of the genus ''Phragmites'', though some [[botanist]]s divide ''Phragmites australis'' into three or four species.
==Growth==
Common reed commonly forms extensive stands (known as [[reed bed]]s), which may be as much as a square kilometre or more in extent. Where conditions are suitable it can spread at 5 m or more per year by horizontal [[runner (botany)|runner]]s, which put down [[root]]s at regular intervals. It can grow in damp ground, in standing water (up to a metre or so deep), or even as a floating mat. The erect stems grow to 2–6 m tall, with the tallest plants growing in areas with hot summers and fertile growing conditions.
The [[leaf|leaves]] are broad for a grass, 20–50 cm long and 2–3 cm broad. The [[flower]]s are produced in late summer in a dense, dark purple [[panicle]], about 20–50 cm long.
Common reed requires neutral or alkaline water conditions, and so it does not usually occur where the water is acidic.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} It tolerates [[brackish]] water, and so is often found at the upper edges of [[Estuary|estuaries]] and on other wetlands (such as [[grazing marsh]]) which are occasionally inundated by the sea.
Common reed is suppressed where it is grazed regularly by livestock. Under these conditions it either grows as small shoots within the grassland sward, or it disappears altogether.
==Taxonomy==
The generally accepted botanical name of common reed is ''Phragmites australis'' ([[Cav.]]) [[Carl Bernhard von Trinius|Trin.]] ex [[Steud.]]. However, it is still often known as ''Phragmites communis'' Trin.; other [[Synonymy|synonyms]] include ''Arundo phragmites'' [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] (the [[basionym]]), ''Phragmites altissimus, P. berlandieri, P. dioicus, P. maximus, P. vulgaris''{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}}<!-- Not clear which of these are synonyms for the whole P australis species, and which are segregates. My (UK) flora gives only P communis for the whole species-->.
==Wildlife==
[[Image:Reedbeach edit1.JPG|thumb|left|600 px| A previously sandy beach invaded by reeds.]] {{-}}
[[Image:Warming-Skudbygning-Fig10-Phragmites-australis.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Three Phragmites seedlings, A very young, C the oldest (3-4 months). Roman numerals denote different shoot generations. Sc = scutellum. From ([[Eugen Warming|Warming 1884]]{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}}<!-- Proper ref here please -->)]]
===Reed beds===
{{Main article|Reed bed}}
Common reed is very important (together with other [[Reed (plant)|reed-like plants]]) for wildlife and conservation, particularly in [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], where several species of [[bird]]s are strongly tied to large ''Phragmites'' stands. These include:
*[[Bearded Tit]] (''Panurus biarmicus'')
*[[Reed Warbler]] (''Acrocephalus scirpaceus'')
*[[Great Bittern]] (''Botaurus stellaris'')
===Invasive reeds===
In [[North America]], the status of the species was misunderstood. It was commonly considered to be an [[exotic species]], not native but introduced from Europe; however, there is now clear evidence of the existence of ''Phragmites'' native in North America long before European colonisation of the continent. It is now known that the North American native forms of ''Phragmites'' are markedly less vigorous than European forms; the recent marked increase in ''Phragmites'' in North America may be due to a vigorous, but otherwise almost indistinguishable European form of the species, best detectable by [[genetics|genetic]] analysis. This is causing serious problems for many other North American wetland plants, including the local form of the species.<ref>[http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=301&fr=1&sts= issg Database: Ecology of Phragmites australis<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Recent studies have characterised morphological variation among the introduced and native stands of ''Phragmites'' in North America. The Eurasian genotype can be distinguished from the North American genotype by its shorter ligules (up to 0.9 mm ''vs''. over 1.0 mm), shorter glumes (under 3.2 mm vs. over 3.2 mm, although there is some overlap in this character), and culm characteristics. Recently, the North American genotype has been described as a distinct subspecies, ''Phragmites australis'' subsp. ''americanus'' Saltonstall, Peterson, and Soreng; the Eurasian genotype is referred to as ''Phragmites australis'' subsp. ''australis''. Rhizomes of the plant are rich in [[dimethyltryptamine|N,N-DMT]] alkaloids {{Fact|date=March 2008}}<!-- Is this definitely common reed? The dimethyltryptamine article only mentions reed canary grass, which is not at all the same thing -->(Wassel et al. 1985{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}}<!-- Proper ref here please -->).
In [[Europe]], common reed is rarely invasive, except in damp [[grassland]]s where traditional [[grazing]] has been abandoned.
==Uses==
===Thatching===
{{Main article|Thatching}}
Reed is used in many areas for thatching roofs. In the [[British Isles]], common reed used for this purpose is known as ''Norfolk reed'' or ''water reed''. However "wheat reed" and "Devon reed", also used for thatching, are not in fact reed, but long-stemmed [[wheat]] straw.
===Water treatment===
{{Main article|Constructed wetland}}
Reed is the main wetland species used for water treatment.
Waste water from bathrooms, lavatories and kitchens is routed to an underground septic tank-like compartment where the solid waste is allowed to settle out. The water then trickles through a ''constructed wetland'' or ''artificial reed bed'' (not to be confused with the natural [[reed bed]] habitat), where bacterial action on the surface of roots and leaf litter removes some of the [[plant nutrition|nutrients]]. The water is then suitable for irrigation or discharge to watercourses.
===Other uses===
Some of other uses for reeds in various cultures include baskets, mats, pen tips, and a crude form of paper.<ref>[http://www.marbleheadconservancy.org/invasives/phragmite.htm Phragmite<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==In literature==
One reference to reeds in European literature is Frenchman [[Blaise Pascal]]'s saying that Man is but a 'thinking reed' (''roseau pensant''). In [[Jean de La Fontaine|La Fontaine]]'s famous fable (''The Oak and the Reed'', ''Le chêne et le roseau''), the reed tells the proud [[oak]]: "I bend, and break not" ("''Je plie, et ne romps pas''"), before the tree's fall.
[[Moses]] was "drawn out of the water where his mother had placed him in a reed basket to save him from the death that had been decreed by the Pharaoh against the firstborn of all of the children of Israel in Egypt" (Exodus 2:10).<ref> [http://cc.usu.edu/~fath6/Moses.htm usu.edu]</ref>. However, the plant concerned may have been another reed-like plant, such as [[Cyperus papyrus|papyrus]], which is still used for making boats.
<gallery>
Image:Phragmites australis1.jpg|Reed stems in flower, in [[France]]
Image:Riet Phragmites australis planten.jpg|Reed growth in early summer
Image:Reed.jpg|Roadside reed left from previous year, in [[Hungary]]
Image:Phragmites Australis.jpg|Reed stems in autumn, in [[Virginia]]
Image:Phragmites_snow_ehm.jpg|Common reed in winter, Sudbury, MA, USA
</gallery>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==See also==
*[[Constructed wetland]]
*[[Deben Estuary]]
*[[Reed bed]]
*[[Reed fields]]
== External links ==
{{commons|Phragmites australis|Phragmites}}
* [http://www.invasiveplants.net/phragmites/PNAS.pdf Cryptic invasion by a non-native genotype of the common reed, Phragmites australis, into North America] (pdf file)
* [http://www.marlin.ac.uk/biotopes/Bio_BasicInfo_IMU.NVC_S4.htm ''Phragmites australis'' swamp and reed beds. On the MarLIN website.]
* [http://www.ask-eu.com/default.asp?linkid=&cmd=VIEW_ARTIKEL8498&cmd2=TOPVIEW5839&keyword= Brandweiner O. et.al., ''Phragmites australis'' as Alternative Fuel for Clinker Production, DeopTech 2006, Leoben, Austria]
[[Category:Grasses]]
[[Category:Herbal and fungal hallucinogens]]
[[Category:Psychedelic tryptamine carriers]]
[[ca:Senill]]
[[de:Schilfrohr]]
[[et:Harilik pilliroog]]
[[el:Καλάμι]]
[[es:Phragmites australis]]
[[fr:Roseau commun]]
[[it:Phragmites australis]]
[[he:קנה מצוי]]
[[lt:Paprastoji nendrė]]
[[nl:Riet]]
[[ja:ヨシ]]
[[pl:Trzcina pospolita]]
[[ru:Тростник]]
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