Taxon: Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.

A declared aquatic or terrestrial noxious weed and/or noxious-weed seed in these U.S. states (see state noxious weed lists), with links to state information or web documents:

AL*, CT*, MA*, NHª, NH(as Phragmites communis)ª, PRª, SCª, VTª.

ªAquatic.

*Terrestrial.

°In seed.

Link to noxious weed information from

Link to species profile at

See also subordinate taxa:

• Phragmites australis subsp. altissimus (no accessions)
• Phragmites australis subsp. americanus (no accessions)
• Phragmites australis subsp. australis (no accessions)

Common names:

• common reed   (Source: World Econ Pl ) – English
  
• ditch reed   (Source: Websters Dict ) – English
  
• giant reed   (Source: Websters Dict ) – English
  
• phragmites   (Source: Herbs Commerce ed2 ) – English
  
• reed grass   (Source: Websters Dict ) – English
  
• phragmite commun   (Source: F NAmer ) – French
  
• roseau commun   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• Schilf   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – German
  
• Schilfrohr   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – German
  
• caniço   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Portuguese
  
• carrizo común   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Spanish
  

Economic importance:

• Environmental: erosion control   (fide Aquat Bot 51:87-101. 1996; Invasive Pl Spec)
  
• Medicines: folklore   (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2)
  
• Weed: also potential seed contaminant   (fide Weed CIBA; Invasive Pl Spec)
  

More:

View phytochemical or ethnobotanical data from Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases

View ethnobotanical data from Moerman's Native American Ethnobotany Database

Distributional range:

• AFRICA
  Macaronesia: Cape Verde; Portugal - Madeira Islands; Spain - Canary Islands
  Northern Africa: Algeria; Egypt; Libya; Morocco; Tunisia
  Northeast Tropical Africa: Chad; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Somalia; Sudan
  East Tropical Africa: Kenya
  West-Central Tropical Africa: Cameroon [n.]
  West Tropical Africa: Gambia; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal
  South Tropical Africa: Mozambique; Zambia; Zimbabwe
  Southern Africa: Botswana; Lesotho; Namibia; South Africa - Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal; Swaziland
  Western Indian Ocean: Madagascar
• ASIA-TEMPERATE
  Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain; Kuwait; Yemen
  Western Asia: Afghanistan; Cyprus; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Lebanon; Syria; Turkey
  Caucasus: Armenia; Azerbaijan; Russian Federation - Checheno-Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar, North Ossetia, Stavropol
  Siberia: Russian Federation - Altay, Buryatia, Chita, Gorno-Altay, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Kurgan, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Tuva, Tyumen, Yakutia-Sakha
  Middle Asia: Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan
  Russian Far East: Russian Federation - Amur, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Primorye, Sakhalin
  Mongolia: Mongolia
  China: China
  Eastern Asia: Japan; Korea
• ASIA-TROPICAL
  Indian Subcontinent: Pakistan
• AUSTRALASIA
  Australia: Australia - New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia [s.]
• EUROPE
  Northern Europe: Denmark; Finland; Ireland; Norway; Sweden; United Kingdom
  Middle Europe: Austria; Belgium; Czech Republic; Germany; Hungary; Netherlands; Poland; Slovakia; Switzerland
  East Europe: Belarus; Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania; Moldova; Russian Federation - European part, Rostov, Volgograd; Ukraine [incl. Krym]
  Southeastern Europe: Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Greece [incl. Crete]; Italy [incl. Sardinia, Sicily]; Macedonia; Montenegro; Romania; Serbia; Slovenia
  Southwestern Europe: France [incl. Corsica]; Portugal; Spain [incl. Baleares]
• NORTHERN AMERICA (Check conservation status in U.S. & Canada in NatureServe Explorer database)
  Subarctic America: Canada - Northwest Territory [s.w.]
  Eastern Canada: Canada - New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec
  Western Canada: Canada - Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan
  Northeastern U.S.A.: United States - Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia
  North-Central U.S.A.: United States - Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin
  Northwestern U.S.A.: United States - Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming
  Southeastern U.S.A.: United States - Alabama, Arkansas [n.], Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina
  South-Central U.S.A.: United States - New Mexico, Texas
  Southwestern U.S.A.: United States - Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah
  Northern Mexico: Mexico - Baja Norte, Baja Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas
  Central Mexico: Mexico - Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla
• SOUTHERN AMERICA
  Mesoamerica: Belize; Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico - Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatan; Nicaragua; Panama
  Caribbean: Bahamas; Dominican Republic; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Jamaica; Martinique; Puerto Rico; St. Lucia
  Northern South America: French Guiana; Guyana; Suriname; Venezuela
  Western South America: Bolivia; Colombia; Ecuador; Peru
  Southern South America: Argentina; Chile; Uruguay

• widely naturalized in New Zealand, United States, Canada, Melanesia, Polynesia, & perhaps elsewhere

• exact native range obscure

References:

• Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica. (F Jam)
• Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976–. Flora of Libya. (F Libya)
• Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. (L Cabo Verde)
• Boulos, L. 1995. Flora of Egypt checklist. (L Egypt)
• Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45. (L Peru)
• CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) (Weed CIBA)
• Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959–. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. (F China)
• Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago. (F Bahamas)
• Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana. (F Mesoamer)
• Davis, P. H., ed. 1965–1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. (F Turk)
• Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. (CRC MedHerbs ed2)
• Englert, J. M. et al. 1999–. USDA-NRCS Improved conservation plant materials released by NRCS and cooperators. (NRCS Cons Pl Mat)
• Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960–. Flora zambesiaca. (F Zamb)
• FNA Editorial Committee. 1993–. Flora of North America. (F NAmer)
• Fedorov, A. A., ed. 1999–. Flora of Russia. The European part and bordering regions (Engl. transl.). (F Russia Eur Part)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop - on-line resource. (Ecocrop)
• George, A. S., ed. 1980–. Flora of Australia. (F Aust)
• Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58. (Grass SAfr)
• Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986–. Flora of the Guianas. (F Guianas)
• Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17. (L Macar ed4)
• Herrera Arrieta, Y. 2001. Las Gramíneus de Durango. (Grass Durango)
• Howard, R. 1974–1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. (F LAnt)
• Izquierdo Z., I. et al., eds. 2004. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. (L Canaries)
• Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75. (L Ecuador)
• Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. (L US Can ed2)
• Kharkevich, S. S., ed. 1985. Vascular plants of the Russian Far East. (F Russ Far East)
• Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000. Flora of Siberia (English translation). (F Siberia)
• Liogier, H. A. & L. F. Martorell. 2000. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis, ed. 2. (F PR ed2)
• Mal, T. K. & L. Narine. 2004. The biology of Canadian weeds. 129. Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. Canad. J. Pl. Sci. 84:365–396.
• McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. (Herbs Commerce ed2)
• Meikle, R. D. 1977–1985. Flora of Cyprus. (F Cyprus)
• Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970–. Flora of [West] Pakistan. (F Pak)
• Ostendorp, W. 1996. Estimation of mechanical resistance of lakeside Phragmites stands. Aquatic Bot. 51:87–101.
• Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. (Dict Rehm)
• Renvoize, S. A. 1998. Gramineas de Bolivia. (Grass Bolivia)
• Saltonstall, K. et al. 2004. Recognition of Phragmites australis subsp. americanus (Poaceae: Arundinoideae) in North America: evidence from morphological and genetic analyses. Sida 21:683–692.
• Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996–. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland. (F GB Ire)
• Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995–. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. (F VenGuay)
• Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966–. Flora of Iraq. (F Iraq)
• Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR. (Grass USSR)
• USDA National Agricultural Library. National Invasive Species Information Center (Nat Invasive Sp Info)
• Valdés, B. et al., eds. 2002. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du nord du Maroc, incluant des clés d'identification. (L NMaroc)
• Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds. (Invasive Pl Spec)
• Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the flora of Yemen. (F Yemen)
• Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966–. Flora palaestina. (F Palest)
• Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74., 1999 (L Argent)
• Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:537.
• Webster's third new international dictionary. (Websters Dict)

More:

Search AGRICOLA article citation database for citations referencing Phragmites australis.

Search NCBI's Entrez search engine for PubMed citations referencing Phragmites australis. Note: Defaults to a search by genus or species epithet if species binomial not found.

Synonyms:

• Arundo altissima Benth. [≡ Phragmites australis subsp. altissimus]
  
• Arundo australis Cav. [≡ Phragmites australis subsp. australis]
  
• (=) Arundo phragmites L.
  
• (=) Arundo vulgaris Lam.
  
• (=) Phragmites communis Trin.
  (previously associated with 12 accessions)
• (=) Phragmites communis var. longivalvis (Steud.) Miq.
  
• (=) Phragmites longivalvis Steud.
  
• (=) Phragmites vulgaris (Lam.) Crép.
  (previously associated with 5 accessions)
• (=) Phragmites vulgaris var. longivalvis (Steud.) W. Wight
  (previously associated with 1 accession)

Check other databases for Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.:

• Flora del Conosur: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares del Conosur
• AVH: Australia's Virtual Herbarium Map Display Interface
• ABIF: Australian Biodiversity Information Facility's Flora of Australia online
• SIBIS: South African National Biodiversity Institute's (SANBI) Integrated Biodiversity System
• On-line Flora of Zimbabwe
• PLANTS: USDA-NRCS Database of Plants of the United States and its Territories
• TROPICOS: Nomenclatural and Specimen Database of the Missouri Botanical Garden
• CNWG: Catalogue of New World Grasses Searchable Database
• Grass Manual on the Web: Manual of Grasses for North America North of Mexico
• World Grass Species-Descriptions: Morphological species description from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• Mansfeld: Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops
• ePIC: Electronic Plant Information Centre of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• AGRICOLA: Article Citation Database or NAL Catalog of USDA's National Agricultural Library
• Entrez: NCBI's search engine for PubMed citations, GenBank sequences, etc.
  Note: Defaults to a search by genus or species epithet if species binomial not found.

Images:

• GRIN Images of germplasm accessions.
• Forestry Images: Images of invasive weeds from www.forestryimages.org

More:

• Check PlantSystematics.org for additional images
• Images Note: Be advised that their identity may be inaccurate. Proper identification of a plant may require specialized taxonomic knowledge or comparison with properly documented herbarium material.

Abbreviations & symbols in GRIN Taxonomy

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