Effect:
haemostatic, anti-asthmatic, antiemetic, antipyretic, antitussive, purifying, diuretic, antipyretic, stone-excreting, sedative, sialagogue, stomachic
Areas of use:
Cough, nausea, relieves bronchitis, cholera and food poisoning (especially from seafood), foul-smelling wounds, diarrhea, fever, vomiting, lung abscesses, urinary tract infections, bad breath, toothache
Parts of the plant used:
Root, leaves
Collection time:
Root in autumn
Can be found:
As a groundwater indicator on moist and nutrient-rich meadows. In spring moors, on moor meadows or in alder swamp and willow forests.
Ingredients:
Starch, asparagine, silica, cane sugar
Other:
The common reed is a rhizome geophyte and a marsh plant. The nominate form, Phragmites australis subsp. australis, reaches a maximum height of 4 meters. During the main growth period of the reed, the rhizomes at the top grow by up to 3 centimeters a day. The oldest parts of the rhizome die off (root creeping and silting pioneer). The leaves, arranged alternately on the stalk, are divided into leaf sheath and leaf blade. Instead of the ligule, there is a ring of hair. The leaf blade, which is initially tubular like the leaf sheath, is flattened by a joint. The flowering period is from July to September. The reed is a meadow grass. The paniculate inflorescence can be up to 50 centimeters long. The flower spikelets contain male flowers at the base and hermaphrodite flowers above. The spikelet axis of the tiny fruit clusters has long, protruding hairs. The fruits are ripe in December at the earliest. (Wikipedia)
Contributes to the self-purification of water bodies and is also planted as a natural sewage treatment plant.
In the kitchen, the young shoots can be used raw, marinated or cooked in salads, soups and various dishes. The rootstocks were previously roasted as a coffee substitute and baked with flour. The seeds were collected, threshed and processed into groats, similar to grain. In Burgenland, grapes are stored on reed mats to make traditional reed wine.
In ancient times, the writing reed cut from a reed stalk was the most important writing instrument for centuries. Around the 6th century, it was replaced in Europe by the quill (made from a bird's feather). In Islamic culture, it is still used for calligraphy today.
Thin mats made of reed are used to shade greenhouses, thicker ones as thermal insulation or wind protection. The species is also used to decorate river banks as an ornamental plant and for land reclamation (e.g. in the IJsselmeer). For many centuries, the mats were made by weaving. The factories known as reed weaving originally used the reeds cut from frozen lakes in winter. They were dried outdoors for a year, then stored in a dry, airy place for a further few months and then woven into thin mats, usually knotted by hand. Machine-made reed mats from the hardware store only last around two years, whereas handmade ones last several years. In 2020, Pritzerbe in Brandenburg is home to the only remaining reed weaving factory in Germany. (Wikipedia)
Reeds primarily play a role as a natural building material. They do not absorb moisture and therefore rot slowly, they are stable and, due to their non-slip surface structure, they are an excellent plaster base. Due to their silica content, they are fire-retardant.
They are used to cover roofs. They can last for 100 years. The stems and leaves are also used by the Indians to build dwellings, trellises, fences and arrows, and for weaving mats, carrying nets, basketry, as insulation, fuel, as a cork substitute, etc.