Arundo is a cosmopolitan genus of stout, perennial grasses from the family Poaceae. The Giant Reed (Arundo donax), native to the Mediterranean region, is considered an invasive weed in some areas where it is not native, for example southern California. It can grow to a height of 9 m, with many stems growing from the rhizome. It looks similar to an outsize Common Reed (Phragmites australis), or even some bamboos. In popular language grass means a short, green, ground covering or lawn, usually, but not necessarily comprised of a true grass or grasses, called turf. ... Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, formerly also known as Gramineae. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Dandelions, shown here in proliferation, are commonly thought of as weeds. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... In botany, a rhizome is a horizontal, usually underground stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. ... species Pragmites australis Reed is a generic term used to describe numerous plants including: Common Reed (Phragmites australis Cav. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. ...

Species

• Arundo agerum - (Europe)
• Arundo airoides - (North America)
• Arundo argentea - (Switzerland)
• Arundo arguta - (Uruguay)
• Arundo bicolor - (North Africa)
• Arundo bifaria - (East Asia)
• Arundo biflora - (Uruguay)
• Arundo boivini - (Madagascar)
• Arundo capillata
• Arundo ciliata - (Switzerland)
• Arundo conspicua - (New Zealand)
• Arundo diclina - (Uruguay)
• Arundo dioica - (SE Asia)
• Arundo donax - Giant Reed, Spanish Cane (Mediterranean, India, naturalized in the US)
• Arundo filiformis - (Java)
• Arundo formosana - (Taiwan)
• Arundo fulvida - (New Zealand)
• Arundo gracilis
• Arundo hellenica - (Greece)
• Arundo henslowiana - (China)
• Arundo indica - (Malaysia)
• Arundo madagascariensis - (Madagascar)
• Arundo mambu
• Arundo maritima - (Scandinavia)
• Arundo minutiflora - (Moluccas)
• Arundo nitida - (Ecuador)
• Arundo orientalis
• Arundo pallens - (North America)
• Arundo parviflora - (Taiwan)
• Arundo pilosa - (Falkland Islands)
• Arundo piscatoria - (SE Asia)
• Arundo pliniana- (Mediterranean)
• Arundo pygmaea - (Italy)
• Arundo reynaudiana - (Peru)
• Arundo roraimensis - (Guyana)
• Arundo rugi - (Chile)
• Arundo sabuli - (Europe)
• Arundo solida - (Uruguay)
• Arundo spence - (United States)
• Arundo tacuara - (Uruguay)
• Arundo triflora - (Uruguay)
• Arundo trivalvis - (Indonesia)
• Arundo valdiviana - (Chile)
• Arundo villosissima - (Turkey)
• Arundo webbiana - (South Africa)
• Arundo zollingeri - (Java)

Uses

Arundo donax is both flexible and strong enough to be used as a reed for woodwinds. Giant reed has been used for flutes for over 5,000 years. The pan pipes consists of 10 or more reed pipes. Its stiff stems are also used as support for climbing plants or for vines. Further uses are walking sticks, fishing poles. Since Arundo species grow very rapidly, their use has been suggested for biomass for energy. A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to make music. ... A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument in which sound is produced by blowing through a mouthpiece against an edge or by a vibrating reed, and in which the pitch is varied by opening or closing holes in the body of the instrument. ... This article pertains to the musical instrument. ... Pan pipes (also known as the panflute or the syrinx or quills) is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the stopped pipe, consisting usually of ten or more pipes of gradually increasing length. ... The term vine was originally a term for the plant on which grapes grew, from the word for wine (Greek oinos), for which grapes were grown. ... Biomass is organic non-fossil material, collectively. ...

References

• As of 2002-06-23

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

Arundo