Kelly W. Allred

Plants perennial; rhizomatous or stoloniferous, often forming dense stands. Culms 1-4 m tall, 0.5-1.5 cm thick, leafy; internodes hollow. Leaves cauline, mostly glabrous; sheaths open; ligules membranous, ciliate; blades flat or folded. Inflorescences terminal, plumose panicles. Spikelets with 2-8 florets, weakly laterally compressed, lower 1-2 florets staminate, distal 1-2 florets rudimentary, remaining florets bisexual; rachilla internodes sericeous; disarticulation above the glumes and below the florets. Glumes unequal, shorter than the florets, 1-3-veined, glabrous; lower glumes much shorter than the upper glumes; calluses pilose, hairs 6-12 mm; lemmas 3-veined, glabrous, unawned; anthers 1-3. Caryopses rarely maturing. x = 12. Name from the Greek phragma, fence, alluding to its fencelike growth.

In the grass volumes of the Flora of North America, Phragmites was interpreted as a monotypic genus having a worldwide distribution. At that times, some taxonomists (e.g., Clayton 1970; Koyama 1987; Scholz and Bohling 2000) recognized 3-4 segregate species. Recent work has identified three different genotypes in North America (Saltonstall 2002) that preliminary data suggest may be morphologically distinct (see http://www.invasiveplants.net/). How these genotypes relate to the various segregate species that have been recognized is not yet known. In 2004, Saltonstall et al. formally recognized three subspecies in North America. A summary of their findings is presented after the species description. In 2010: Haines raised P. australis subsp. americanus Saltonstall et al. to specific rank as Phragmites americanus (Saltonstall et al.) A.Haines.

Phragmites karka is sometimes attributed to the Flora region. It supposedly differs from P. australis as shown below, but all the characters intergrade. For this reason, they are treated here as components of a single species.

T.A. Cope (1995) Phragmites. Flora of Somalia 4: 158.

Plants tall, rhizomatous, perennial reeds. Leaves cauline; ligules very short, membranous, with long-cilate margins. Panicles terminal, large, plumose. Spikelets with 2-8 florets, the  lowest floret in each spikelet male or sterile; glumes longer than the lowest lemmas, 3-5-veined; floret calluses linear, plumose; fertile lemmas hyaline, 1-3-veined, glabrous, long caudate and entire but the caudate tips easily broken off.

Phragmites includes 4 species. They grow throughout the world. Two species are known from Somaliland and Somalia.

Key to the species of Phragmites in Somaliland and Somalia. 

Global distribution of Phragmites.

Note: GBIF records include introduced and cultivated plants. Consequently, the distribution shown often differs from statements about a taxon's native distribution.