Species

Phragmites australis

Etymology

australis: southern

Common Name(s)

Phragmites

Authority

Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. exSteud.

Family

Poaceae

Brief Description

Large reed (commonly 3 m tall) forming dense beds on the edges of water bodies. Bamboo-like with tall canes but these are not woody and die off over winter. Flower heads flarge feathery, somewhat like pampas flowers.

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

PHRAUS

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Grasses

Distribution

Locally naturalised Hawkes Bay, Tasman, Canterbury, all known sites targeted for eradication.

Habitat

Still and slow flowing water bodies, wetlands and reported from salt marshes overseas.

Features

Robust summer green grass, growing to 3m or more tall, with stout far-reaching rhizomes. Stalks are leafy, rigid, erect, bamboo-like, with many nodes. Leaves bluish-green, up to 60 cm long and 3 cm wide, often aligning in one direction when older. Flower head is purplish, silky, and almost up to 40 cm long.

Similar Taxa

Giant reed (Arundo donax) and bamboos. Giant reed is taller with arching stems. Bamboos have stalked leaves rather than leaves that attach directly to the stalk in the case of phragmites.

Flowering

Summer

Flower Colours

Green,White

Fruiting

Not known to fruit in New Zealand

Year Naturalised

1950.

Origin

Native range includes every continent except Antarctica, but not native in New Zealand.

Reason for Introduction

Ornamental pond and garden plant

Control Techniques

Notify Ministry for Primary Industries if found.

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Spreads by rhizomes and stem fragments, possibly by mowers. Also deliberate plantings.

Attribution

Factsheet prepared by Paul Champion and Deborah Hofstra (NIWA).

References and further reading

Champion et al (2012). Freshwater Pests of New Zealand.  NIWA publication.  http://www.niwa.co.nz/freshwater-and-estuaries/management-tools/identification-guides-and-fact-sheets/freshwater-pest-species.

Chromosome numbers of Phragmites australis (Arundineae: Gramineae) in New Zealand. NZJ Bot 36: 465-469.

This page last updated on 21 Aug 2013