phragmites

American  

[frag-mahy-teez] / frægˈmaɪ tiz /

noun

1. any of several tall grasses of the genus Phragmites, having plumed heads, growing in marshy areas, especially the common reed P. australis (orP. communis ).

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Etymology

Origin of phragmites

< New Latin (1820) < Greek phragmī́tēs growing in hedges, equivalent to phrágm ( a ) fence, breastwork, screen (noun derivative of phrássein ( Attic phráttein ) to fence in, hedge around) + -ītēs -ite ¹

Example Sentences

This abrupt transition occurs beneath one of the phragmites mounds and marks a major structural boundary that warrants further investigation.

From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026

The helicopter-based survey was carried out last year after scientists observed freshwater emerging under pressure in parts of the exposed lakebed in Farmington Bay, forming unusual mounds covered in dense phragmites reeds.

From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026

The area is plagued by phragmites, an invasive reed that covers thousands of shoreline acres.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 1, 2022

America’s three coasts and inland lakes and rivers are blighted by phragmites, an alien grass.

From Slate • Oct. 14, 2019

I kept going, but toward the head of the creek, a marsh taken over by a patch of tall phragmites warned of shallow water, and I turned the boat around, not wanting to run aground.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings