Phragmites australis
NPPA pest plant
Common names
phragmites
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Simplified description
Large (commonly 3 m tall) forming dense beds on the edges of water bodies. Bamboo-like with tall canes but these are not woody and die off over winter. Flower heads flarge feathery, somewhat like pampas flowers.
Flower colours
Green, White
Detailed description
Robust summer green grass, growing to 3 m or more tall, with stout far-reaching rhizomes. Stalks are leafy, rigid, erect, bamboo-like, with many nodes. Leaves bluish-green, up to 60 cm long and 3 cm wide, often aligning in one direction when older. Flower head is purplish, silky, and almost up to 40 cm long.
Similar taxa
Giant reed (Arundo donax) and bamboos. Giant reed is taller with arching stems. Bamboos have stalked leaves rather than leaves that attach directly to the stalk in the case of phragmites.
Distribution
Locally naturalised Hawke’s Bay, Tasman, Canterbury, all known sites targeted for eradication.
Habitat
Still and slow flowing water bodies, wetlands and reported from salt marshes overseas.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
Summer
Fruiting
Not known to fruit in New Zealand
Year naturalised
1950. There was an early record (1864) by von Haast (Connor et al. 1996), but unlikely to have established
Origin
Native range includes every continent except Antarctica, but not native in New Zealand.
Reason for introduction
Ornamental pond and garden plant.
Control techniques
Notify Ministry for Primary Industries if found.
Life cycle and dispersal
Spreads by rhizomes and stem fragments, possibly by mowers. Also deliberate plantings.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
OBL: Obligate Wetland
Almost always is a hydrophyte, rarely in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
australis: Southern
National Pest Plant Accord species
This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
PHRAUS
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Champion P. et al. 2020. Freshwater Invasive Species of New Zealand 2020. NIWA publication. https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/FreInSpec.pdf
Connor HE, Dawson MI, Keating RD, Gill LS. 1998. Chromosome numbers of Phragmites australis (Arundineae: Gramineae) in New Zealand. NZ Journal of Botany 36(3): 465-469. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.1998.9512584
Attribution
Factsheet prepared by Paul Champion and Deborah Hofstra (NIWA).