Reed Canarygrass
Phalaris arundinacea L.
Poaceae (Grass Family)
▲ ▼ mature plants
▲ inflorescence
▲ collar and ▼ ligule
Reed Canarygrass: (pp. 450-451, Weeds of the Great Plains; pp. 72-73, Weeds of the Northeast)
· Cool-season perennial grass that spreads by seeds and rhizomes
· Grows 2-8’ tall, with dark green medium texture leaf blades, that may remain green year round
· Flowering stems are slender, upright and stiff, producing many slender, compressed panicle (spike-like) inflorescences that turn whitish-gray after maturing
· Found in wetter soils
· Non-native colonies are more aggressive than native colonies