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REED CANARY GRASS

NOMENCLATURE

Other Names:

Scientific Name: Phalaris arundinacea L.

Plant Family: Graminae

GENERAL INFORMATION

Botanical Description: grass

 Stems: erect, often 3-6 feet tall, but can reach 9 feet tall

 Leaves: blades flat, linear, 4 to 14 inches long, 0.5 to 1 inch wide

 Roots: rhizomatous, spreading

 Flowers: flower heads 3 to 16 inches long, loosely branched, spreading as flowers open, spikelets densely crowded, occur June - September

 Seeds: about 0.25 inches, with short hairs, thicker toward attached end but quickly tapering toward other end

 Seedling:

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

This aggressive grass can overtake existing vegetation to create a solid colony of reed canary grass.

LIFE CYCLE

Reproduction: perennial

 Propagation: underground rhizomes, seed

 Dispersal:

DISTRIBUTION

State: Found throughout Wisconsin.

National:

Origin: native to the Mediterranean region

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

May easily invade new plantings. Grows in dense patches on wetlands, often adjacent to cranberry marshes. Common in drainage ditches and along reservoirs.

SCOUTING PROCEDURE/ET

May invade new plantings most easily. While scouting a cranberry bed for disease and insect pests, identify weed populations as they arise. Note the specie(s) of weed present as well as the population level relative to field area. Example: 40% reed canary grass, 20% boneset and joe-pye weed mix.

REFERENCES

Behrendt, S. and M. Hanf. 1979. Grass Weeds in World Agriculture: Identification in the Flowerless State. BASF Aktiengesellschaft, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. p. 41.

HSfliger, E. and H. Scholz. 1981. Grass Weeds 2. Ciba-Geigy, Basle, Switzerland. p. 112.

 

Kummer, L. D., T. G. Dittl, and T. D. Planer. 1993. Wisconsin Cranberry Weeds. Wisconsin Cranberry Board, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. p. 27.

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