Giant Reed

Species Name:     Arundo donax
Family:                 Poaceae (grass family)
Plant Type:           Exotic invasive grass 

Description:  Many stemmed, dense clumps of cane or bamboo-like grass, stem hollow but divided by partitions at nodes (like bamboo), height 9-25 feet (3-8 m), spreads by rhizomes and rooting nodes, semidormant in winter (turns brownish)

Leaf:  Blade-like, flat, length to 3 feet, width to 2 inches at base, tapers to point at tip, alternate, arranged in a single plane like corn.

Flower: March-September, plumed terminal cluster, length 1-2 feet, brown or purple.

Fruit/Seed: Very little information is available about viable seeds being produced in North America.

Typical Location:  Streamside, floodplains, drainages, ditches; elevations below 1,600 feet (500 m).

Invasiveness:  Giant reed is considered a noxious weed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the agency has policies calling for its eradication throughout California.

Notes:  Introduced from Asia and one of the greatest vegetative threats to the health of California's waterways.  It is highly flammable, provides limited stream shading, and minimal habitat for native wildlife.  Forms dense monocultures that may exclude native vegetation.

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