Common Name:
REED CANARY GRASS
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Coefficient of Conservatism:
0
Coefficient of Wetness:
-3
Wetness Index:
FACW
Physiognomy:
Nt P-Grass
M. Demmon
Marshes and wet shores, borders of streams and ponds, in ditches. The glumes are usually glabrous, rarely minutely hispidulous.
The species is apparently native, in part, but can also form dense stands completely choking out other vegetation. It is, in fact, becoming a serious problem in wetlands in southern Michigan especially. That weedy elements are derived from introductions from Europe was suggested by Dore & McNeill (1980), for the species is also native in Eurasia. The genetic studies of Jakubowski, Jackson, & Casler (2014) provide more evidence of alien and native races, plus documentation of native populations in northern Michigan, though morphological discrimination of the two remains elusive. Phalaris was collected by the First Survey in 1838.
In f. variegata (Parn.) Druce (Ribbon Grass), frequently cultivated for its ornamental foliage, the leaf blades are longitudinally striped with white or cream. Colonies of this form (known from Houghton, Ingham, Jackson, Kent, Keweenaw, Leelanau, Osceola, St. Clair, Shiawassee, Washtenaw, and Wayne Cos.) are presumably escapes from cultivation.
Sometimes separated as Phalaroides arundinacea (L.) Rauschert from the rather different looking annual species.