Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Arundo donax
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Giant Reed from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Arundo donax
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Arundo donax
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Arundo donax
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-04-001:
Arundo donax FAMILY Poaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Arundo donax var. donax
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Arundo donax var. versicolor
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arundo donax
COMMON NAME:
Giant Reed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_ardo4_003_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm160524_004
May Greenville County SC
Last year's culms are still standing when the new growth starts.
)
JK Marlow jkm200531_5445
May Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm200611_5825
June Greenville County SC
These strange shoots -- oddities of meristematic growth -- are they common?
)
JK Marlow jkm200618_5916
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm200618_5919
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0309e_09a
September Greenville County SC
Roadside
Cornstalk-like culms over 20' high topped by 3' feathery plumes of flowers, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm160913_028
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160926_022
September Greenville County SC
)
Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org bug_5405051
October
)
JK Marlow jkm151023_514
October Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm151023_519
October Anderson County SC
Leaf blades conspicuously distichous [2-ranked], spaced ~ evenly along culm, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm151023_520
October Anderson County SC
Panicle dense, erect, 30-60cm long, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm0311h_10
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm151103_035
November Greenville County SC
)
Keith Bradley kab_arundo_donax_2135
November Collier County FL
Big Cypress National Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0412a_15
December Anderson County SC
Roadside
Seeds apparently sterile. Reproduction is from fragments of stems & rhizomes, per Invasive Plants, Weeds of the Global Garden (Randall & Marinelli, 1996).
)
Amy Ferriter, State of Idaho, Bugwood.org bug_1461062
Month Unknown
Sheaths overlapping; basal clasping blade flange conspicuous, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org bug_5446641
Month Unknown
The flat smooth leaf blades reach up to 1.5' long, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Arundo donax
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Arundo donax
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Arundo donax
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Arundo donax
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-04-001:
Arundo donax
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Arundo donax var. donax
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Arundo donax var. versicolor
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arundo donax
131
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Roadsides, waste dumps, other disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Old World
Uncommon (rare in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Glumes purplish
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p355
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p086
- Invasive Plants, Weeds of the Global Garden (Randall & Marinelli, 1996) p84
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p184
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p149
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