Reed is a common name for several tall, grass-like plants of wetlands.

Varieties

They are all members of the order Poales (in the modern, expanded circumscription), and include:

In the grass family, Poaceae

In the sedge family, Cyperaceae

In the family Typhaceae

In the family Restionaceae

Use in construction

Many different cultures have used reeds in construction of buildings of various types for at least thousands of years. One contemporary example is the Marsh Arabs.

Thatching

Phragmites australis, the common reed, is used in many areas for thatching roofs. In the United Kingdom, common reed used for this purpose is known as "Norfolk reed" or "water reed". However, "wheat reed" and "Devon reed" are not reeds but long-stemmed wheat straw.

Use in music

Ancient Greeks used Arundo donax to make flutes known as kalamaulos; this is a compound word, from kalamos (cane) + aulos (flute). At the time, the best cane for flutes came from the banks of river Kephissos, in Attica, Greece. Several kalamaulos tuned differently and tied together, made a syrinx or Panpipes. A. donax is still the principal source material of reed makers for clarinets, saxophones, oboes, bassoons, bagpipes, and other woodwind instruments. The Var country in southern France contains the best-known supply of instrument reeds.

Other uses

Bamboo and, even more commonly, rattan stems are used as "reed sticks" to wick and disperse the scent of essential oils in aroma diffusers. (See .) Certain reed species were used in the manufacture of the writing implement, Reed pens, by scribes of antiquity. The use is still in practice today within the field of Art, specifically Calligraphy. (see .)