phragmites

[ frag-mahy-teez ]

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of phragmites¹

< 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

The Papyrus antiquorum, ten feet high, has much the same habit as our Phragmites and other water plants.

From Project Gutenberg

Hides by day in the old stems of reed (Phragmites), and feeds at night on the leaves, August to October.

From Project Gutenberg

It feeds from August to October on the leaves of the reed (Phragmites), hiding by day in the stems.

From Project Gutenberg

It feeds from April to June in the stems of reed (Phragmites), causing the leaves of the affected stems to whiten.

From Project Gutenberg

Dr. William Marshall writes, that it only breeds in certain localities where a large water reed (Phragmites arundinacea) abounds.

From Project Gutenberg