Phalaris arundinacea L.

Graminae

Synonyms

Phalaroides arundinacea (L.) Rauschert, Typhoides arundinacea (L.) Moench, Baldingera arundinacea (L.) Dum., Digraphis arundinacea (L.) Trin.

Common names

Reed canary-grass (English), Baldingère or alpiste roseau (French), Rohr glanzgrass (German).

Description

Perennial plant, very robust, hairless, rhizomatous. Stems erect, 50 - 150 (- 200) cm high. Blade rolled when young, wide (8 - 16 mm), long, finely striate, almost smooth, pale green. Ligule long (almost 5 mm), oval-obtuse. No auricles. Panicle-like inflorescence, elongated, spreading at flowering then contracted, whitish-green to purple. Spikelets 1 - flowered. The weight of 1000 seeds is 0.60 to 0.80 g (small seeds). Chromosome number: 2n = 28 or 42.

Temperature

Large climate range.

Soil

Restricted to wet and boggy soils. Resistant to flooding and surprisingly also to temporary droughts. Large range of nutrient availability but favoured by rich soils. Large range also for pH, thrives on very acid soils as well as on basic soils. Mostly on peat soils. Frequent also on clay soils. Less abundant on soils of rough texture.

Distribution

Native to temperate and cold areas of the northern hemisphere, to mountains of eastern and southern Africa. From the lowlands to mountain areas.

References