Phragmites

Phragmites (frag-MY-teez) is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.

Waste water from lavatories and greywater from kitchens is routed to an underground septic tank-like compartment where the solid waste is allowed to settle out. The water then trickles through a constructed wetland or artificial reed bed, where bioremediation bacterial action on the surface of roots and leaf litter removes some of the nutrients in biotransformation. The water is then suitable for irrigation, groundwater recharge, or release to natural watercourses.

Reed is used in many areas for thatching roofs. In the British Isles, common reed used for this purpose is known as Norfolk reed or water reed. However, “wheat reed” and “Devon reed”, also used for thatching, are not in fact reed, but long-stemmed wheat straw.[citation needed]

In Middle East countries Phragmites is used to create a small instrument similar to the clarinet called a sipsi, with either a single, as in the picture, or double pipes as in bagpipes.[5] The reed of the zurna is made from the common reed which is flattened after removing its brittle outer glaze and the loose inner membrane, and after softening it by wetting.[6] The result is a double reed with an elliptical opening that vibrates by closing and opening at a high speed. This is not to be confused with other double reeds like that of the oboe which uses two reeds made from the giant reed leaning against each other.

The leaves, roots, seeds and stems of phragmites are edible.[7] Young shoots can be cooked or eaten raw just like bamboo shoots. The young stems, “while still green and fleshy, can be dried and pounded into a fine powder, which when moistened is roasted [sic] like marshmallows.” The seeds and rhizomes “can be ground into flour or made into gruel.”[8] In Japan, young leaves are dried, ground, and then mixed with cereal flour to make dumplings. Grazing on phragmites by large-bodied domestic herbivores, such as cows, horses, sheep, and goats, can effectively control the plant and provide a reciprocal positive benefit for humans by generating meat, milk, leather, and wool etc.[9]