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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Phalaris arundinacea | Reed Canarygrass
ABBREVIATION :
PHAARU
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
PHAR3
COMMON NAMES :
reed canarygrass
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for reed canarygrass is Phalaris
arundinacea L. (Poaceae) [9]. Two varieties are recognized [15]:
P. arundinacea var. arundinacea
P. arundinacea var. pinta L.
Phalaris arundunacea var. pinta has white-striped leaves and is grown
for ornamental gardens.
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
S. A. Snyder, August 1992
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Snyder, S. A. 1992. Phalaris arundinacea. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Phalaris arundinacea | Reed Canarygrass
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Reed canarygrass occurs from Newfoundland across Canada to Alaska and
south to Arizona and New Mexico. In the East, it occurs as far south as
northern South Carolina and Missouri [31].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
STATES :
AK AZ CA CO CT DE GA HI ID IL
IN IA KS KY ME MD MA MI MN MS
MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND
OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN UT VT
VA WA WV WI WY AB BC MB NB NF
NT ON PQ SK YT
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
ANTI APIS BICA CACO CATO CRMO
CUVA DEWA DETO EFMO FLFO GWMP
GLAC GRCA GRTE INDU ISRO JODA
NOCA OLYM PIRO PIPE REDW SHEN
SLBE TICA VAFO WICA YELL
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K039 Blackbrush
K041 Creosotebush
K049 Tule marshes
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K057 Galleta - three-awn shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
K074 Bluestem prairie
K081 Oak savanna
K099 Maple - basswood forest
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K101 Elm - ash forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
16 Aspen
26 Sugar maple - basswood
52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
53 White oak
55 Northern red oak
62 Silver maple - American elm
63 Cottonwood
109 Hawthorn
110 Black oak
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
210 Interior Douglas-fir
213 Grand fir
216 Blue spruce
217 Aspen
222 Black cottonwood - willow
235 Cottonwood - willow
237 Interior ponderosa pine
239 Pinyon - juniper
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Reed canarygrass is dominant in the following riparian classification
schemes:
Classification and management of riparian and wetland sites in
northwestern Montana [3].
Riparian dominance types of Montana [12].
Classification and management of riparian sites in southwestern Montana [13].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Phalaris arundinacea | Reed Canarygrass
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Waterfowl, upland game birds, riparian mammals, and fish all use reed
canarygrass for cover and food. Reed canarygrass hay fields have been
created for goose grazing areas [4].
PALATABILITY :
Reed canarygrass has been rated as good forage for cattle, sheep, and
horses in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana [6]. It is most
palatable when it is growing, becoming more coarse and increasing in
alkaloids by autumn [3].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Nutrient contents were measured for reed canarygrass in the United
Kingdom following two seasons of simulated grazing trials and cutting
for silage [10]:
Simulated content
grazing g kg-1 Silage g kg-1
year 2 year 3 year 2 year 3
---------------------------------- -------------------------------
Phosphorus 4.6 3.8 Phosphorus 3.7 3.0
Potassium 38.7 31.7 Potassium 34.1 25.8
Calcium 4.2 4.6 Calcium 4.5 4.0
Magnesium 2.5 2.3 Magnesium 2.5 2.4
In the same simulated grazing trials dry matter production decreased
from 8.82 t/ha to 7.0 t/ha in 3 years, and digestive organic matter
decreased from 5.87 t/ha to 4.62 t/ha.
Crude protein during winter has been measured at 7.8 percent [32].
COVER VALUE :
Prairie chickens use reed canarygrass for hiding cover in winter [28].
It is also used by muskrats and fish for cover [3].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Reed canarygrass is rated as a good for streambank stabilization and
excellent for rehabilitating waterways and trapping and filtering
sediments to prevent erosion [27]. However, because it is an aggressive
competitor, it can replace other native riparian vegetation, and its use
should be restricted [3]. In some areas it is desirable, especially
where the exotic, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), is invading
riparian areas [22]. Reed canarygrass is used to revegetate strip mine
spoils [26]. Seeding guidelines are available [7].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Reed canarygrass is considered an undesirable invader in oak savannahs
of south-central Wisconsin [14]. It can be controlled with glyphosate,
followed by covering treated areas with black plastic. This method is
successful if done for 3 years, and then the treated area seeded with
desirable species. Selective hand-pulling is also successful but must
be carried out two to three times a year for 5 years [14]. Other
chemicals, such as Dalapon and Amitrol, are effective in fall or early
winter [1]. Reed canarygrass can also be eliminated by applying boron.
Root growth is reduced by 50 percent by adding 29 parts per million of
boron. Shoot growth is reduced by the same percentage by adding 82
parts per million [23].
Mowing can increase reed canarygrass, although repeated mowing over a
5-year period mowing can reduce percent frequency [19].
Reed canarygrass can be a desirable forage crop for cattle. Grazing
should begin when the grass is 12 inches (30 cm) tall, and when soils
are dry to minimize trampling [3]. Intense stocking rates with a short
rotation period are recommended. Reed canarygrass should not be grazed
to less than 5 to 8 inches (13-20 cm) in height.
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Phalaris arundinacea | Reed Canarygrass
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Reed canarygrass is a perennial grass that can grow as tall as 8 feet
(2.66 m) but usually reaches heights of only 27.6 to 55.1 inches (70-140
cm) [12]. Leaves are up to 12 inches (30 cm) long and 0.75 inch (2 cm)
wide [21]. The seed head is a compact panicle that can vary in length
from 2.8 to 15.7 inches (7-40 cm) [1]. The panicle is green or light
purple [17].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Chamaephyte
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Reed canarygrass reproduces mainly by rhizomes [12]. Rhizomes grow into
dense mats within 1 year, and up to 74 percent of new shoots are
believed to arise from rhizomes. Tillers bud within 2 inches (5 cm) of
the soil surface [1]. Reed canarygrass can also readily reproduce by
seeds, which germinate shortly after ripening. There are no known
domancy requirements [1].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Reed canarygrass occurs along streambanks, ponds, lakes, irrigation
canals, ditches, and in wet meadows, brackish tidelands, and marshes
[31]. It tolerates frequent and prolonged flooding as well as
submergence. pH of water has been measured at 7.3 to 8.8 [1]. Soils
are usually Entisols and Mollisols, fine textured, and poorly drained
[3]. Elevation ranges have been recorded for some western states [6]:
Colorado 4,500 to 9,000 feet (1,372-2,743 m)
Wyoming 3,500 to 9,000 feet (1,067-2,743 m)
Montana 3,600 to 7,000 feet (1,097-2,134 m)
Utah 6,400 to 8,900 feet (1,951-2,713 m)
Some plant associates of reed canarygrass include cattail (Typha spp.),
bulrush (Scirpus spp.), rush (Juncus spp.), sedge (Carex spp.),
smartweed (Polygonum spp.), spikerush (Eleocharis spp.), horsetail
(Equisetum spp.), pondweed (Potamogeton spp.), arrowhead (Sagittaria
latifolia), rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides), bluejoint reedgrass
(Calamagrostis canadensis), fowl bluegrass (Poa palustris), prairie
cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), and white spiraea (Spiraea alba)
[5,25,30].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Reed canarygrass is a native, cool-season, perennial grass [12,17]. It
is not shade tolerant but is moderately tolerant of drought and saline
or alkaline soils [31]. It usually forms monotypic stands and is highly
competitive with timothy (Phleum pratense), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa
pratensis), and redtop (Agrostis alba), often invading these grasslands
to become the dominant cover type [1].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Inflorescence and seed development dates for reed canarygrass have been
recorded for Montana [33]:
inflorescence boot - May through June
inflorescence appears - June
seed development - June through July
seed dispersal - July
Similar dates have been recorded for Illinois and Wisconsin [1]. Reed
canarygrass can bloom 16 weeks after germination. At 5 to 7 weeks,
tillers form, and at 26 days rhizomes begin to develop [1].
Occasionally panicles are not produced until the second growing season,
and full stands are not reached until the third growing season [31].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Phalaris arundinacea | Reed Canarygrass
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Reed canarygrass can survive fires because of its rhizomes [31].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Phalaris arundinacea | Reed Canarygrass
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire probably top-kills reed canarygrass.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Early April fires may cause increases in reed canarygrass, while mid to
late May burns can prevent it from producing seed [14].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Reed canarygrass can be controlled to a limited extent by burning every
2 to 3 years during the dry season [3]. Prescribed fires are
recommended in April and May to prevent shrub invasion of sedge and reed
canarygrass meadows [25]. Marshes, where reed canarygrass is present,
can be burned in winter (when the ice is 9 to 12 inches [23-30 cm]
thick) to reduce plant density and improve wildlife feeding areas [34].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Phalaris arundinacea | Reed Canarygrass
REFERENCES :
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U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
3. Boggs, Keith; Hansen, Paul; Pfister, Robert; Joy, John. 1990.
Classification and management of riparian and wetland sites in
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Forestry, Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station, Montana
Riparian Association. 217 p. Draft Version 1. [8447]
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in north-central Iowa. In: Glenn-Lewin, David C.; Landers, Roger Q.,
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Erling B. 1981. Establishment of seeded grasslands for wildlife habitat
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234. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife
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Index
Related categories for Species: Phalaris arundinacea
| Reed Canarygrass
|
 |
