Any of various perennial tall, slender grasses found growing in wet or marshy environments; also the hollow, jointed stalks of any of these plants. The common reed (
P. australis) reaches a height of 3 m/10 ft, having stiff, upright leaves and straight stems with a plume of purplish flowers at the top. (Especially species of the genera
Phragmites and
Arundo, family Gramineae.)
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