Phragmites karka(Retz.) Trin. ex Steud.

tall reed

WFO wfo-0000890251 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Phragmites karka, photographed by Arnim Littek
fig. a Arnim Littek, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-05 / obs. 204322269
Phragmites karka, photographed by Dana Lee Ling
fig. b Dana Lee Ling, CC0 1.0 / obs. 201796202
Phragmites karka, photographed by Arnim Littek
fig. c Arnim Littek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198304301
Phragmites karka, photographed by Arnim Littek
fig. d Arnim Littek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198303836
Phragmites karka, photographed by Arnim Littek
fig. e Arnim Littek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196474728
Phragmites karka, photographed by Arnim Littek
fig. f Arnim Littek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196708665
Phragmites karka, photographed by Arnim Littek
fig. g Arnim Littek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196708072
Phragmites karka, photographed by Arnim Littek
fig. h Arnim Littek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196210039

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 65 botanical countries

Regions where Phragmites karka is native: Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Oman, Taiwan, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Caroline Is., Cook Is., Hawaii, Marianas, Marshall Is., New Caledonia, Vanuatu BeninBurkinaCameroonDR CongoEritreaEthiopiaGambiaGhanaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaMaliNigerNigeriaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTogoUgandaChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanOmanTaiwanYemenAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaHawaiiNew Caledonia KoreaNansei-shotoNicobar Is.Caroline Is.Cook Is.MarianasMarshall Is.Vanuatu
Native distribution of Phragmites karka, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Benin BEN AFRICA
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Mali MLI
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Nansei-shoto NNS
Oman OMA
Taiwan TAI
Yemen YEM
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Cook Is. COO
Hawaii HAW
Marianas MRN
Marshall Is. MRS
New Caledonia NWC
Vanuatu VAN
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Western Australia WAU

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 535 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 7.3 °C 12.4 °C 18.6 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 19.4 °C 29.8 °C 31.4 °C
Annual rainfall 1,024 mm 2,097 mm 4,138 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 55 mm 202 mm 675 mm

It is barely found anywhere that freezes. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 535 research-grade observations of Phragmites karka that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 22 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Arundo corea Rottler ex Hook.f.
  • Arundo karka Retz.
  • Arundo roxburghii Kunth
  • Arundo tecta Blanco
  • Arundo tibialis Roxb. ex Wall.
  • Arundo tibialis Roxb.
  • Arundo vallatoria L.
  • Calamagrostis karka (Retz.) J.F.Gmel.
  • Oxyanthe japonica (Steud.) Steud.
  • Phragmites bifaria Wight ex Hook.f.
  • Phragmites cincta (Hook.f.) B.S.Sun
  • Phragmites communis var. zeylanicus Nees
  • Phragmites karka var. cinctus Hook.f.
  • Phragmites karka var. karka
  • Phragmites laxiflora Steud.
  • Phragmites nepalensis Nees ex Steud.
  • Phragmites roxburghii Steud.
  • Phragmites vallatorius (L.) Veldkamp
  • Sericura japonica Steud.
  • Trichoon karka (Retz.) Roth
  • Trichoon roxburghii (Kunth) W.Wight
  • Trichoon roxburghii W.Wight

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.