Reed (plant)

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

Reeds growing insaltmarsh in the estuary of theRiver Tay.

Varieties

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

In the grass family,Poaceae

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

In the sedge family,Cyperaceae

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

In the familyTyphaceae

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

In the familyRestionaceae

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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.

Use in construction

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A reed house under construction in the marshes of Iraq, 1978

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

Thatching

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Main article:Thatching

A man in Germany thatching a roof using reeds

Phragmites australis, thecommon reed, is used in many areas forthatching roofs. In theUnited 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-stemmedwheat straw.

Use in music

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Ancient Greeks usedArundo donax to makeflutes 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 orPanpipes.A. donax is still the principal source material ofreed makers forclarinets,saxophones,oboes,bassoons,bagpipes, and otherwoodwind instruments.^[1] TheVar country in southern France contains the best-known supply of instrument reeds.

Other uses

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

Certain reed species were used in the manufacture of the writing implement,Reed pens, byscribes of antiquity. The use is still in practice today within the field ofArt, specificallyCalligraphy. (seeCalligraphy § Tools.)

References

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^Opperman, Kalman (1956).Handbook for making and Adjusting Single Reeds. New York, New York: Chappell & Co. p. 40.

External links

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Wikisource has the text of the1911Encyclopædia Britannica article "Reed".

Wikiquote has quotations related toReed (plant).

Wikimedia Commons has media related toReed (plant).

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