Reed sweetgrass

Identification
Tall aquatic emergent perennial grass, sometimes variegated

Grows up to 8.5 ft tall, has unbranched stems

Leaf blades flat, up to 16 inches long, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide

Leaf margins rough with short stiff hairs

Leaf sheaths rough in texture and have reddish-brown band at leaf junction

Ligule rounded, pointy at the apex (a ligule is the translucent tissue found where the leaf blade attaches to the stem, visible when leaf is folded away from stem)

Stems often reddish on lower portion

Inflorescence (flower stem) is open and branched (a panicle), up to 18 inches tall, made up of many yellow to green or purple-tinged narrow spikelets

Seeds are small (1.5-2 mm, 0.07 in), obovoid, smooth, dark brown, with a deep and narrow central furrow

Flowers in June to August

Can be confused with northwest native American mannagrass (Glyceria grandis), but G. grandisis shorter (up to 5 feet tall), has drooping infloresence branches, and smooth sheaths at the base of the infloresence branches (G. maxima has rough sheaths).