SimplePlant

Poaceae

Tall reed

Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin. ex Steud.

Family
Poaceae
Genus
Phragmites

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Tall reed (Phragmites karka)
FlowerPhoto: chiuluan, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (10)
Amharic
Shembeko
Arabic
قيصوب طويل
arz
قيصوب طويل
Chinese
開卡蘆, 卡开芦, 卡开芦(大芦), 水芦荻根, 大芦, 丝毛芦
English
Tall reed
Indonesian
Perumpung
Japanese
セイタカヨシ, セイコノヨシ
Javanese
Prumpung
Sundanese
Bayongbong
Thai
แขม

Synonyms

  • Arundo corea Rottler ex Hook.f.
  • Arundo karka Retz.
  • Arundo roxburghii Kunth
  • Arundo tecta Blanco
  • Arundo tibialis Roxb.
  • Arundo tibialis Roxb. ex Wall.
  • Arundo vallatoria L.
  • Calamagrostis karka (Retz.) J.F.Gmel.
  • Oxyanthe japonica (Steud.) Steud.
  • Phragmites bifaria Wight ex Hook.f.
  • Phragmites cincta (Hook.f.) B.S.Sun
  • Phragmites communis var. zeylanicus Nees
  • Phragmites karka var. cinctus Hook.f.
  • Phragmites karka var. karka
  • Phragmites laxiflora Steud.
  • Phragmites nepalensis Nees ex Steud.
  • Phragmites roxburghii Steud.
  • Phragmites vallatorius (L.) Veldkamp
  • Sericura japonica Steud.
  • Trichoon karka (Retz.) Roth
  • Trichoon roxburghii (Kunth) W.Wight
  • Trichoon roxburghii W.Wight

Flowers

In flower
July, September to December (from 24 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Graminoid
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Pacific Basin: native

Photos

More in Phragmites

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.