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      1. Common Name
      2. Scientific Name
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Reed Canary-Grass

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Reed Canary-Grass photos

Scientific Name:Phalaris arundinacea
Dense stand of Reed Canary-grass
Dense stand of Reed Canary-grass
Photo: A J Brown

Status:
Native to Europe and temperate Asia. Also found in North America and southern Africa. Naturalised in Western Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria.

Plant Description:

Perennial grass with a rhizomatous root system and erect stems to 2 m tall. Leaves are smooth and hairless from 10-35 cm long and 6-18 mm wide.

Flower-head is a spreading panicle, 5-25 cm long and 1-5 cm wide with crowded spikelets on each branch. Spikelets 4-6 mm long. Anthers light brown to mauve.

Habitat:
Scattered but uncommon throughout Victoria. Grows in water or on very wet sites and is very tolerant of waterlogging. Has been observed in the Gippsland Lakes to tolerate salinity and acid sulfate soils.

RegionSalinity ClassWaterlogging Class
Western, GippslandS0, S1, S2W2, W3, W4

Comments:
Grows on wetter sites and appears to tolerate more salinity than Toowoomba Canary-grass (Phalaris aquatica). Often grows in very dense stands.

Reed Canary-Grass Photos

Flower-head of Reed Canary-grass
Flower-head of Reed Canary-grass
Photo: A J Brown
Spikelets of Reed Canary-grass showing exserted anthers and feathery stigmas
Spikelets of Reed Canary-grass showing exserted anthers and feathery stigmas
Photo: A J Brown

Old spikelets of Reed Canary-grass
Old spikelets of Reed Canary-grass
Photo: A J Brown

Stand of Reed Canary-grass
Stand of Reed Canary-grass
Photo: A J Brown

Leaves and flower-heads of Reed Canary-grass
Leaves and flower-heads of Reed Canary-gras
Photo: A J Brown

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