My watch list
my.chemeurope.com  
Login  

Reed canary grass



Reed canary grass

Reed canary grass inflorescence
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Phalaris
Species: P. arundinacea
Binomial name
Phalaris arundinacea
L.

Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is a tall, coarse-looking perennial grass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America.

  The stems can reach 2 m in height. The leaf blades are blue-green when fresh and straw-colored when dry. The flowers are borne on the stem high above the leaves and are pinkish at full bloom.

A number of cultivars of P. arundinacea have been selected for use as ornamental plants, including variegated (striped) cultivars – sometimes called ribbon grass – such as Dwarfs Garters and Strawberries and Cream. The latter gets its name from the large white stripes and pinkish color that appears on the leaves at varying times. When grown, although drought tolerant, it likes abundant water and can even be grown as an aquatic plant.

In many places, reed canary grass is an invasive species in wetlands, particularly in disturbed areas. It is also planted as a hay crop or for forage. Furthermore it provides fibers which find use in pulp and papermaking processes.

Leaves of P. arundinacea contain DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and related compounds. [1]

See also


References

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Reed_canary_grass". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
Your browser is not current. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 does not support some functions on Chemie.DE