Phragmites australis
(Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.
Feather Grass, Reed, Common Reed
(c) Luca Boscain, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Luca Boscain
(c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Douglas Goldman
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Donald Davesne
What to Eat
Edible parts: Root, Shoots, Seeds, Sap, Cereal, Rhizome, Tea
The root can be eaten raw or cooked like potatoes and contains up to 5% sugar. It is best when young and still growing. It can also be dried, ground coarsely, and prepared as a porridge, and in Russia it is processed into starch. Young shoots are edible raw or cooked — particularly delicious before the leaves form — and can be used like bamboo shoots. The partly unfolded leaves work as a potherb; in Japan, young leaves are dried, ground into powder, and mixed with cereal flour when making dumplings. The stems are reported to contain 4.8g protein, 0.8g fat, 90.0g total carbohydrate, 41.2g fiber, and 4.4g ash. The seed can be eaten raw or cooked, or ground into flour; it is small and difficult to remove from the husk but said to be very nutritious. A sugar with a sweet liquorice-like taste can be extracted from the stalks or wounded stems — eaten raw or cooked — by boiling the stems in water and reducing the liquid. A sugary gum that exudes from the stems can be rolled into balls and eaten as sweets. A powder extracted from the dried stems can be moistened and roasted in the same manner as marshmallow.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. It grows on the edges of pools and waterways. It grows in wetlands. It can grow in water up to 2 m deep. It can grow in slightly salty water. It does best in sunny sites and on clay soils. It does best in mud but can grow in sand. It can tolerate frost. It can grow in arid places. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 2,500 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 4-9. In Yunnan.
Africa, Argentina, Asia, Australia*, Bahamas, Bahrain, Balkans, Bosnia, Botswana, Britain, Burkina Faso, Canada, Central America*, Central Asia, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Egypt, Estonia, Eswatini, Europe, Finland, Georgia, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Lesser Antilles*, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mediterranean, Middle East, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Norway, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Romania, Russia, Scandinavia, SE Asia, Senegal, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America*, Suriname, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tasmania*, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies*, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A thick stemmed grass. It keeps growing from year to year from underground creeping stems or rhizomes. The stalks are erect. The stems are about 3 m high and 1 cm across. They have many nodes and are hollow in between these. The leaves are produced all the way up the stem. The leaves are 80 cm long by 4 cm wide. The leaves sheath the base. The blade is flat or slightly rolled inwards. The leaves are smooth underneath. The leaves point upwards and curve over. The flower panicle is about 40 cm long. It is green with purple tones and becomes creamy-white. The spikelets are 1-1.8 cm long.
How to Grow
It can be grown from seed or by division of the clump. Seed are difficult and slow to germinate.
Propagation: Surface sow seed in spring in a light position, keeping the soil moist by standing the pot in 3cm of water. Germination usually takes place quite quickly. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and plant out in summer. Division in spring is very straightforward — any piece of root with a growth bud will grow into a new plant. Larger divisions can go directly into permanent positions. Smaller divisions are better potted up and grown on in light shade in a cold frame until well established before planting out in late spring or early summer.
Medicinal Uses
The leaves are used to treat bronchitis and cholera, and the ash of the leaves is applied to foul sores. A decoction of the flowers treats cholera and food poisoning. The ashes are styptic. The stem is used as an antidote and has antiemetic, antipyretic, and refrigerant properties. The root is antiasthmatic, antiemetic, antipyretic, antitussive, depurative, diuretic, febrifuge, lithontripic, sedative, sialogogue, and stomachic. It is taken internally for diarrhoea, fevers, vomiting, coughs with thick dark phlegm, lung abscesses, urinary tract infections, and food poisoning (especially from seafood). Externally, the root is mixed with gypsum to treat halitosis and toothache. The root is harvested in autumn and either juiced or dried for use in decoctions.
Other Uses
The common reed produces large quantities of biomass — annual yields of 40–63 tonnes per hectare have been reported — used in a wide range of applications. It is converted into alcohol for use as fuel, burned directly as fuel, and processed into fertilizer. The plant is rich in pentosans and can be used for the production of furfural; nodes and sheaths yield 6.6% and underground parts over 13% furfural, with pentosan content peaking in the mature reed. It can also be used to prepare absolute alcohol, feed yeast, and lactic acid. Stems are useful for producing homogeneous boards and can be processed into a fine fibrous material suitable as an upholstery filler. Stems are used for thatching roofs, a use that can last up to 100 years, and along with leaves are used to build dwellings, lattices, fences, and arrows, and for weaving mats, carrying nets, basket making, insulation, and as a cork substitute. The stem contains over 50% cellulose and is used in manufacturing pulps for rayon and paper. Fibre from the leaves and stems, measuring 0.8–3.0mm long and 5.0–30.5µm in diameter, is used to make paper; stems and leaves are harvested in summer, cut into pieces, soaked for 24 hours in clear water, cooked for 2 hours with lye, and beaten in a blender to produce a khaki-coloured paper. Fibre from the plant is also used to make string, and the flowering stalks yield fibre suitable for rope. The leaves are used in basket making and mat weaving. A light green dye is obtained from the flowers. Freshly cut shoots make a good green manure. The inflorescences are used as brooms. The plant can serve as a cork substitute. It is mixed with mud to make wall plaster. Thin stems were historically fashioned into pens for writing on parchment and used as linear measuring devices. The vigorous, spreading rootstock makes the plant useful for binding soil along stream banks; it is planted for flood control as it stabilises banks and gradually builds up soil depth, raising the bank level.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Phragmites australis, known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to 20 feet (6 metres) tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide.
Other Information
It is sold in local markets in China.
Notes
There are 3 or 4 Phragmites species. It can be invasive.
Names & Synonyms
Bennels, Boss, Butsu mu, Cana hueca, Cana paja, Cane, Carrizo, Charr-ak, Dambu, Dharill, Dila, Djarg, Jaark, Kaerk, Kowat, Legseyba, Lu wei gen, Nad, Nanfang luwei, Narkat, Navadni trst, Plumacho, Qasab, Reed grass, Roog, Taark, Taerk, Takror, Tark, Tark-korn, Traska, Trestie, Tropical reed, Trostnik ozernyi, Wild broomcorn
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