Phalaris arundinacea: 20 seeds of reed canary grass
Reed canary grass is a perennial grass native to Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America. You come across it along ditch banks, in wet meadows, on shorelines and beside roads, where creeping rhizomes knit a dense mat just below the surface. The stems are smooth and upright and usually reach somewhere between 90 and 180 centimetres. Leaves are long and gradually tapering, with a strikingly transparent ligule at the point where the blade meets the stem. The flower head appears in May and June: a branched panicle that looks narrow and spike like at first and opens out as it blooms, green to purplish and later fading to beige.
The species has been planted for centuries as a forage grass and to hold banks and embankments together, and the European forms have a reputation for vigour. In gardens it is mostly the variegated form with white striped blades that gets used. There is a substantial literature on its constituents: gramine, hordenine, beta carbolines and tryptamine alkaloids such as DMT and 5-MeO-DMT have all been described in the leaves of Phalaris arundinacea. Reported levels vary widely between clones, growth stages and seasons. Livestock keepers know that alkaloid rich selections can cause problems for grazing animals, which says plenty about this being no ordinary lawn grass.
How to sow Phalaris arundinacea
- Use a layer of soil at least 10 cm deep, in a pot, a tray or a contained patch of garden.
- Space the seeds evenly, roughly 5 to 10 mm apart.
- Press the seeds gently into the soil rather than burying them deep.
- Keep the soil moist, especially during the first weeks after sowing.
- The seeds germinate readily; within a few months you have a well grown clump.
Points to keep in mind
Bear in mind that the rhizomes spread quickly and are hard to get rid of later on. Keep the plant in a pot, or use a root barrier if you want it in open ground. These seeds are meant for cultivation and study; if you decide to use them otherwise, that is your own responsibility. Store them dry, dark and out of reach of children. The same category at Avalon Magic Plants holds Papaver rhoeas, Hyoscyamus niger, Lactuca virosa, Leonotis nepetifolia and Nicotiana tabacum, among others.
