Reed (plant)

Reed is a common name for several tall, grass-like plants of wetlands.

They are all members of the order Poales (in the modern, expanded circumscription), and include:

• Common reed (Phragmites australis), the original species named reed
• Giant reed (Arundo donax), used for making reeds for musical instruments
• Burma reed (Neyraudia reynaudiana)
• Reed canary-grass (Phalaris arundinacea)
• Reed sweet-grass (Glyceria maxima)
• Small-reed (Calamagrostis species)

• Paper reed or papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), the source of the Ancient Egyptian writing material, also used for making boats

• Bur-reed (Sparganium species)
• Reed-mace (Typha species), also called bulrush or cattail

• Cape thatching reed (Elegia tectorum), a restio originating from the South-western Cape, South Africa.
• Thatching reed (Thamnochortus insignis), another restio species originating from the same geographic region.

Many different cultures have used reeds in construction of buildings of various types for at least thousands of years. One contemporary example is the Marsh Arabs.

Phragmites australis, the common reed, is used in many areas for thatching roofs. In the United Kingdom, common reed used for this purpose is known as "Norfolk reed" or "water reed". However, "wheat reed" and "Devon reed" are not reeds but long-stemmed wheat straw.

Ancient Greeks used Arundo donax to make flutes known as kalamaulos; this is a compound word, from kalamos (cane) + aulos (flute). At the time, the best cane for flutes came from the banks of river Kephissos, in Attica, Greece. Several kalamaulos tuned differently and tied together, made a syrinx or Panpipes. A. donax is still the principal source material of reed makers for clarinets, saxophones, oboes, bassoons, bagpipes, and other woodwind instruments.^[1] The Var country in southern France contains the best-known supply of instrument reeds.

Bamboo and, even more commonly, rattan stems are used as "reed sticks" to wick and disperse the scent of essential oils in aroma diffusers. (See Rattan § Food source.)

Certain reed species were used in the manufacture of the writing implement, Reed pens, by scribes of antiquity. The use is still in practice today within the field of Art, specifically Calligraphy. (see Calligraphy § Tools.)

• Bamboo
• Constructed wetland
• Rattan
• Reed bed
• Reed boat
• Reed fields
• Reed level
• Reed pen

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Reed".

Wikiquote has quotations related to Reed (plant).

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Index of plants with the same common name

This page is an index of articles on plant species (or higher taxonomic groups) with the same common name (vernacular name).
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