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Scientific Name:
Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (ITIS)
Common Name:
Common reed
Native To:
Native to the U.S., but the more invasive strains originated in Europe (Tulbure et al. 2007)
Date of U.S. Introduction:
Invasive European strains probably introduced during the 1800s (Saltonstall 2002)
Means of Introduction:
Possibly through ships' ballast (Saltonstall 2002)
Impact:
Crowds out native species (Tewksbury et al. 2002)
Distribution / Maps / Survey Status
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Provides state, county, point and GIS data. Maps can be downloaded and shared.
Images
Videos
Google. YouTube; Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Common Reed.
Council or Task Force
Alberta Invasive Species Council (Canada).
See also: Fact Sheets for more information about individual invasive species, including those listed as "Prohibited Noxious" and "Noxious" under the Alberta Weed Control Act
Ohio Invasive Plants Council.
See also: Invasive Plants of Ohio for worst invasive plant species identified in Ohio's natural areas
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Washington Invasive Species Council.
Partnership
University of Alaska - Anchorage. Alaska Center for Conservation Science.
See also: Non-Native Plant Species List for additional factsheets (species biographies) and species risk assessment reports of non-native species present in Alaska and also non-native species currently not recorded in Alaska (potential invasives).
IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Federal Government
USDA. FS. Rocky Mountain Research Station. Fire Sciences Laboratory.
Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Marine Invasions Research Lab.
USDA. ARS. National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN-Global.
State and Local Government
Thurston County Noxious Weed Control (Washington).
See also: Noxious Weed Fact Sheets for more species
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
See also: Invasive Plant Fact Sheets for plant species (trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and aquatic plants) that have impacted the state's natural lands
Academic
University of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Flora Project of Morris Arboretum.
See also: Invasive Plant Fact Sheets for additional invasive plants in Pennsylvania
University of Minnesota. Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center.
See also: Phragmites research
Texas A&M University. AgriLife Extension Service. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.
Pennsylvania State University. Pennsylvania Sea Grant.
See also: Aquatic Invasive Species: Resources for additional species information
Columbia University. Center for Environmental Research and Conservation.
University of Maine. Cooperative Extension.
See also: Maine Invasive Plants & Entire Series for entire series of 22 fact sheets and invasive plants brochure (available in HTML/PDF or for purchase)
Ohio State University. Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
Citations
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Phragmites australis. [Accessed Sep 10, 2014].
- Saltonstall, K. 2002. Cryptic invasion by a non-native genotype of the common reed, Phragmites australis, into North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99(4):2445-2449.
- Tewksbury, L., R. Casagrande, B. Blossey, P. Hafliger, and M. Schwarzlander. 2002. Potential for biological control of Phragmites australis in North America. Biological Control 23(2):191-212.
- Tulbure, M.G., C.A. Johnston, and D.L. Auger. 2007. Rapid invasion of a Great Lakes coastal wetland by non-native Phragmites australis and Typha. Journal of Great Lakes Research 33(sp3):269-279.