Reed Canary Grass

Appearance

The stems can reach 2 metres in height. The leaf blades are usually green, but may be variegated. The panicles are up to 30 centimeters long. The spikelets are light green, often streaked with darker green or purple. This is a perennial grass which spreads underground by its thick rhizomes.

Naming

Other common names for the plant include gardener's-garters and ribbon grass in English, "alpiste roseau" in French, "Rohrglanzgras" in German, "kusa-yoshi" in Japanese, "caniço-malhado" in Portuguese, and "hierba cinta" and "pasto cinto" in Spanish.

Distribution

"P. arundinacea" now has world-wide distribution. It is regarded as native to both North America and Eurasia, but this is debated and it appears that the populations in North America are made up of a mixture of cultivars of both those that were introduced from Europe and indigenous varieties.

Habitat

In many places, "P. arundinacea" is an invasive species in wetlands, particularly in disturbed areas. It has been reported as an invasive weed in floodplains, riverside meadows, and other wetland habitat types around the world. When "P. arundinacea" invades a wetland, it inhibits native vegetation and reduces biological diversity. It alters the entire ecosystem. The grass propagates by seed and rhizome, and once established, is difficult to eradicate.

Uses

A number of cultivars of "P. arundinacea" have been selected for use as ornamental plants, including variegated cultivars – sometimes called ribbon grass – such as 'Castor' and 'Feesey'. The latter has a pink tinge to the leaves. When grown, although drought-tolerant, it likes abundant water and can even be grown as an aquatic plant.

Reed canary grass grows well on poor soil and contaminated industrial sites, and researchers at Teesside University's Contaminated Land & Water Centre have suggested it as the ideal candidate for phytoremediation in improving soil quality and biodiversity at brownfield sites.

The grass can also easily be turned into bricks or pellets for burning in biomass power stations. Furthermore, it provides fibers which find use in pulp and papermaking processes.

"P. arundinacea" is also planted as a hay crop or for forage.

This species of "Phalaris" may also be used as a source for the psychedelic drugs DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and 5-OH-DMT, as well as Hordenine and 5-MeO-NMT; however, N,N-DMT is considered most desirable. Although the concentrations of these compounds is lower than in other potential sources, such as "Psychotria viridis" and "Mimosa tenuiflora", large enough quantities of the grass can be refined to make an ad hoc ayahuasca brew.