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Reed canary-grass
DESCRIPTION:
Reed canary-grass is a cool-season grass that grows 3-8 feet tall. It forms
dense, monospecific stands in wet meadows, riparian areas, and marshes;
spreading by means of stout rhizomes. Established plants of reed canary-grass
can tolerate prolonged periods of inundation. Other species that might be
confused with reed canary-grass include: common reed (Phragmites australis),
Canada bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis), or orchard grass (Dactylis
glomerata). The long, membranous ligule of reed canary-grass can be helpful in
distinguishing it from the others. In addition, unlike common reed, the stems
of reed canary-grass do not remain standing through the winter.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: Reed canary-grass is a circumboreal species; in North American it grows from Newfoundland to Alaska and south to North Carolina, Kansas, and California. Why it has become so invasive is not fully known, but may be related to the development of agronomic cultivars with increased vigor and drought tolerance. As early as the 1830s efforts were underway in New England to develop superior forms of reed canary-grass for use as a forage crop. Whether we are also dealing with several naturally occurring genotypes, as we have learned recently is the case with common reed (Phragmites australis), has not been determined. Reed canary-grass occurs throughout Pennsylvania in marshes, alluvial meadows, shores, and ditches. It dominates the extensive riparian flats along the upper Delaware River. EFFECTS OF INVASION: Reed canary-grass forms dense, monospecific stands in open wetlands, wet meadows, riparian areas, and shores. It effectively excludes all other plant species, causing greatly decreased biological diversity in wetland communities.
REPRODUCTION AND METHODS OF DISPERSAL: Both seed production and vegetative spread by means of rhizomes contribute to the success of reed canary-grass. Seeds are wind-disseminated; both seeds and rhizome fragments are undoubtedly also transported by water. Reed canary-grass produces few viable seeds unless cross pollination between clones occurs. NATIVE ALTERNATIVES FOR LANDSCAPE USE: Reed canary-grass should not be planted in wetland restoration programs, native grasses and other monocots that do not exhibit invasive tendencies include: big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), Canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis), hairy wild rye (Elymus villosus), bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix), fowl mannagrass (Glyceria striata), rattlesnake grass (Glyceria canadensis), slender mannagrass (Glyceria melicaria), Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), soft rush (Juncus effusus), soft-stem bulrush (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontana), wool-grass (Scirpus cyperinus), and many sedges (Carex spp.). AUTHORS: Ann F. Rhoads and Timothy A. Block, Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania. For more information
on reed canary-grass, please contact: REFERENCES:
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