Home | About | Join / Sign In | Contacts

Invasive.org - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health

reed canarygrass	USDA PLANTS Symbol: PHAR3 USDA ARS GRIN: 27512 ITIS: 41335 NAPIS: PCACHBA
Phalaris arundinacea L.
Taxonomic Rank: Liliopsida: Cyperales: Poaceae
Synonym(s): reed canary grass
Reed canarygrass is a cool-season perennial grass that grows to 6 ft. (1.7 m) tall. Leaf blades are flat, 1-4 ft. (0.3-1.2 m) long, up to 3/4 in. (1.9 cm) wide, glabrous and taper gradually. The ligule is membranous (transparent) and long. The spreading flower/seed heads arise from hairless stems and can be green, purple, or brown in color and usually 3-6 in. (7.6-15.2 cm) in length. Flowering occurs from May to July. Reed canarygrass is variable in morphology, so characteristics may depend upon the habitat. It spreads by seeds and rhizomes and can quickly dominate wetlands, ditches, prairie potholes and other sites with moist soil. Reed canarygrass can exclude all other vegetation and is extremely difficult to eradicate once established. Debate exists as to the nativity of reed canarygrass; it is native to Europe and possibly parts of Asia, but it may also be native to the northwestern United States. Aggressive behavior that is exhibited in many parts of the central and western United States may be a result of escaped cultivars that were bred for vigor and quick growth.

Identification, Biology, Control and Management Resources

Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service
Element Stewardship Abstract - The Nature Conservancy
Invasive Plant Atlas of New England - University of Connecticut
Fact Sheet - Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources

Selected Images from Invasive.org

View All Images at Invasive.org

Stem(s); Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Feature(s); ligule Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Foliage; Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Flower(s); South Dakota Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); Tom Heutte, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); Jamie Nielsen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Cooperative Extension Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); in flower Jamie Nielsen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Cooperative Extension Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Plant(s); in flower Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Infestation; Jamie Nielsen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Cooperative Extension Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Infestation; Iowa Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Infestation; The darker colored patch of grass in the low area of this pasture is all reed canarygrass. South Dakota Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Fruit(s); Steve Hurst, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Diagram or Graphic; Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Misc. Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC. USDA PLANTS Database, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Diagram or Graphic; Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 1: 170. USDA PLANTS Database, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage

Taxonomic References:

USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Invasive Listing Sources:

Partners

forest service, aphis, csrees