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Phragmites australis · paprastoji nendrė

EN · common reed DE · Schilfrohr LT · paprastoji nendrė LV · parastā niedre PL · trzcina pospolita

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phragmites_australis It is a wetland grass that can grow up to 6 metres tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide.

The entire plant is edible raw or cooked. The young stems can be boiled, or later on be used to make flour. The underground stems can be used but are tough, as can the seeds but they are hard to find.

Stems can be made into eco-friendly drinking straws. Many parts of the plant can be eaten. The young shoots can be consumed raw or cooked. The hardened sap from damaged stems can be eaten fresh or toasted. The stems can be dried, ground, sifted, hydrated, and toasted like marshmallows. The seeds can be crushed, mixed with berries and water, and cooked to make a gruel. The roots can be prepared similar to those of cattails.

Common reed is the primary source of thatch for traditional thatch housing in Europe and beyond. The plant is extensively used in phytodepuration, or natural water treatment systems, since the root hairs are excellent at filtering out impurities in waste water. It also shows excellent potential as a source of biomass.