Reed ordinary: description, application, photo

Reed ordinary is a tall herbaceous erect plant, growing along the banks of water bodies, lakes, flowing, in swamps, marine scythes and damp meadows, often at a meter and a half depth.

Reed ordinary: description

This plant is a cosmopolitan, which can be found almost everywhere, except deserts and the Arctic. The height of this perennial can sometimes reach 4-5 meters, the hollow stem in diameter is 2 centimeters. After flowering, the straight stalk is lignified. Gray-green leaves of reed are linear-lanceolate, elongated and characterized by rigidity and cutting edges. Under the gusts of a strong wind can bend to the water surface, practically touching it, while never breaking.

Inflorescence - a large fluffy whisk (violet or silver), consisting of a large number of small spikelet. Pollination of reeds occurs with the help of wind, flowering is observed in July-September. Fruits are grains that mature in late summer or early autumn. They do not fall for a long time and attract attention with fluffy silvery-brownish sultans. In winter, this plant, covered with a snow cover, looks majestic, giving a pond, on the perimeter of which grows, a nice, cozy look. His loud rustling with dried up shoots in the wind can not be confused with anything, it seems to protect you from the bad weather of the inhabitants of the reservoir.

Ecological application of cane

The rhizomes of the reed are long, greatly expanding, constantly capturing new territories. It is with their help that the reed multiplies. Its thickets are thick and impassable, have important ecological significance. Located in the swampy terrain, reed ordinary (photo shows the mass of its distribution), dries them, converting them into dry areas. This is due to the mass of stems and leaves, absorbing a large amount of moisture from the soil and evaporating it. The formation of peat is also due to reeds. This plant is used for feeding cattle. Moose, nutria and muskrats eagerly eat its hard stems, which are also used in agriculture for silage harvesting.

Application of cane in the national economy

Reed ordinary - an excellent material for the production of baskets, mats, light furniture for cottages, musical instruments. This is a natural raw material for the production of cardboard and paper. In dry areas, dry reed stalks are used as a fuel, and this high-quality sound and heat insulation material is covered on the roof sheds. In translation from Latin Phragmites means "fence", "fence". The production of adobe brick is based on the cut from the shoots of this coastal plant. Also, reed is used as a vegetable fertilizer and even for obtaining alcohol.

Plant-oxygenator

With its help, the sand is consolidated, as well as the reduction of the degree of contamination of water. Reed ordinary (the family to which it refers - cereals) - plant-oxygenator, which plays an important role in maintaining the purity of the pond. He is put in a deep-water place of the reservoir and is regularly cut off because of disorderly growth. For a small pond there will be enough 2-3 plants, for a larger area it is recommended the presence of several types of oxygenators, to which, in addition to the reed, the hornwort is submerged, the ordinary telerus, the buttercup, and the eldea are ruddy curly.

Harm of reed in agriculture

For agriculture, reed ordinary is considered a malignant weed that has become widespread on irrigated lands. Rice, alfalfa and cotton plantations suffer more from it. The main measures to control the spread of reeds are drainage, repeated and deep tillage of the soil, drainage of its upper horizons with temporary cessation of irrigation activities, alternation of rice sowing with watered crops.

Reed is an excellent decor element, giving the surrounding environment a touch of exoticism and some refinement, so it is often a key component in the design of parks and gardens.

Reed ordinary: use in medicine

In addition to practical qualities, reed has a number of medicinal properties, which were first identified by the physicians of the East. In China, its rhizomes were considered an antidote for poisoning by seafood and fish, used as an anti-emetic and choleretic agent, prescribed for colds and diseases of the urinary canals. The cane leaves contain vitamin C, starch, sugars, carotene and amino acids, and the stems are rich in cellulose.

In the scientific domestic medicine the cane is not used. Herbalists of the Siberian lands recommend decoction from his shoots for the treatment of cystitis, edema, colds, as well as diseases of the prostate. His healing properties, he manifests in combination with the mountaineer bird and sorrel. Infusion of reed shoots is recommended for anemia, beriberi and general decline of physical strength. The diuretic tincture of the leaves has diuretic properties. In the dried form of them, a powder is made, which is sprinkled with poorly healing ulcers and suppurating wounds. Mucous discharge of stems treat the bite sites with insects. With intestinal and gastric diseases, cane is recommended in the diet as a component of dietary nutrition. When poisoning fresh ashes of reed stems is used as an antiemetic.

Workpiece

Harvesting of young stems and leaves of reeds is carried out in May-June. Their drying is required to be carried out in a ventilated room (in attics, under a canopy), where the raw material is laid out in a thin layer and periodically turned over.

Rhizomes of reeds are extracted from the bottom of the pond with forks, rakes and other improvised tools. Then they are washed under cold water, cut off small roots and aerial parts, wilted in the air for several hours, after which they are dried in ovens, ovens, dryers at a temperature of 55-60 degrees. Signs of well-dried raw materials - cracking with a crunch, sweetish taste, pleasant smell. Dried rhizomes are stored for about 3 years, stems and leaves - 1 year.

Cane in Cooking

Young cane stems are suitable for food and resemble asparagus. In the famine years, even had to stock up on the reeds, the flour from the rhizomes was mixed with the usual - a huge deficit in those terrible times. Rhizomes and young reed shoots are eaten raw, added to salads, marinated, baked; Roasted in a crushed form brew and drink as a substitute for coffee.

There are no specific contraindications to the use of cane. However, it is still not recommended to use flour in large quantities in culinary products because of its high fiber content.

Reed is a plant that resists diseases in its majority. Spider mite - the main pest, damaging the cane stalk ordinary with the growth of the latter under adverse conditions (low air humidity and lean watering).