Common Reed – FranLaff.com

Do you already know this species? Click the arrows to check…

Common Name

Common Reed

Scientific Name

Phragmites australis

More Clues to ID

This worldwide wetland grass can grow up to 20 feet (6 meters) tall and can cover a quarter of a square mile or more in one stand!

This is the most widely distributed of ALL flowering plants, found in the vast majority of nations, on all continents. Luckily, it is also quite edible and even useful. See the links for details.

~ Click any pic to open slideshow ~

Learn about this species:

This is one of those ubiquitous species that a great many people have seen growing in ditches and marshy areas, often dismissing it as “ditch grass” or even “cattails”.

Image Credits

Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
R.A.Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maurice Flesier, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
other pics from Pixabay or Fran's personal collection

Favorite

This yellow-flowered, silvery-leaved plant grows low to the ground and has runners that shoot out all over to establish new plants, just like its ...

Visit this Species

Clumps of this small mint can look almost unreal, like clusters of tiny geometric towers sprayed with dusty purple paint

Visit this Species

This little ground squirrel lives in central/eastern Europe and may remind you of the North American prairie dog

Visit this Species

This genus of trees has over 100 species native to North America and Eurasia. Most have opposite leaves with palmate lobes and veins, ...

Visit this Species

The local Philippines call this woody vine "tayabak". Related to the green beans we grow in our gardens, this species' unique turquoise claw-shaped ...

Visit this Species