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Reed Canary-Grass

Reed Canary-Grass

Phalaroides arundinacea

Identify the Reed Canary-Grass from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Very common

Reed Canary-Grass is a tall, sturdy grass that forms loose clumps and spreads by long creeping roots. It is often seen along lakes and rivers, in ditches and wet meadows, and can even stand in shallow water. It is native across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere and can form dense stands in open, wet places.

Did you know?

  • A striped-leaved garden form called ‘Picta’ is widely grown.
  • It has been cultivated for fiber and paper production.

About the species

Identification

Very tall grass, usually 80–200 cm. Stems upright, smooth and hollow, with firm joints. Leaves flat, stiff and 1–2 cm wide; green, sometimes with a pale stripe; the upper side feels rough. Where each leaf meets the stem there is a short white, ragged-edged flap (about 6 mm). Flower heads are narrow and dense, 8–15 cm long, blue‑green to pinkish, brush‑like when fresh; later they loosen a little and turn brown as small hard seeds form. Differs from common reed, which has larger, soft, drooping, feathery heads; reed canary-grass has tighter, more upright heads and the small white flap at the leaf base. Flowers in Finland in July–August.

Plant group

Grasses, sedges and rushes

Habitat

shore

Flowering

Jul–Aug

About the habitat

Grows in wet, nutrient‑rich places: shorelines, shallow water, marsh edges, wet meadows and ditches; also on sandy or stony shores and along roadsides. Common across most of Finland; rather scarce in northernmost Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phalaris arundinacea kz04.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40632

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40632

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Sisävedet: rantaniityt, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40632

Text: Pinkka: Pieni maatalouslajintuntemus - Puuvartiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40632

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruokohelpi

See also