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Plant Conservation Alliance®s Alien Plant Working Group 

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FACT SHEET: BURMA REED

Burma Reed 

Neyraudia reynaudiana (Kunth) Keng ex A.S. Hitchc. 

Grass family (Poaceae) 

NATIVE RANGE 

Southeast Asia and Indomalaya (Japan, southern China, Viet Nam, Laos, 

Cambodia, Thailand, Malaya, Myanmar (Burma), Bhutan, Nepal, and eastern 

India) 

DESCRIPTION 

Burma reed, also known as silk reed, cane grass, and false reed, is a tall, 

perennial, large-plumed grass that grows in clumps in sunny upland areas. 

Stems, including the flower stalks are from 3 to 15 feet in height, depending on 

soil and moisture conditions. The leaves are 8 to 10 inches long and hairless, 

except for a single line of horizontal hairs at the juncture of the upper and lower 

portions of the leaf. Stems are approximately 1⁄2 inch in width, are round, solid, 

and have nodes (stem-leaf junctures) every 3 to 5 inches along the stem. The 

flower plumes, which can be up to 3 feet long, are composed of many 

hundreds of tiny flowers and have a shimmery, silky appearance. Flowering 

occurs in April and October, each clump producing an average of forty stalks 

and twelve to twenty flowering plumes. Burma reed resembles several other 

tall grasses, including common reed (Phragmites communis), giant reed 

(Arundo donax), pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) and sugar cane 

(Saccharum officinarum). 

ECOLOGICAL THREAT 

Burma reed damages native ecosystems by crowding and shading out 

understory plant species and by creating conditions for extremely hot and 

destructive wildfires. In southern Florida (Miami-Dade County), it is a serious 

threat to the globally imperiled pine rocklands community whose pine canopy 

was largely destroyed in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew. Burma reed is a highly 

combustible fuel source because of its overall plant mass, its large feathery 

flower plumes, and the dense, hay-like leaf litter it produces. This hay-like litter 

enhances the fire's movement along the ground, while the flower plumes carry 

the flames high into the air. With the aid of winds, these plumes often detach 

and fly through the air like torches, providing the potential for additional spread. 

Photographs of its ignition during a wildfire show flames leaping over 30 feet 

high, threatening nearby tree canopies. 

DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES 

Burma reed is found throughout southern Florida in the counties of MiamiDade, Broward, Palm Beach, Lee, and Collier, and the Florida Keys. 

HABITAT IN THE UNITED STATES 

In its native range, which is characterized by a warm, subtropical climate, 

Burma reed occurs in bogs, in open savannahs, on upland cliffs, and along 

forest and road edges, and thrives from sea level to altitudes of 6,500 feet. In 

the U.S., Burma reed initially colonizes the margins of roadways, fields, and 

forests, from which it can spread to undisturbed areas. The ability of Burma 

reed to survive at high altitudes in its native range indicates a tolerance to cold 

and the potential for it to spread further north in the U.S. 
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Plant Conservation Alliance®s Alien Plant Working Group 

Xeeds HoneXild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas 

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BACKGROUND 

Burma reed was first introduced into the United States in 1916 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, possibly to 

investigate its potential as an ornamental plant. It was grown in a test garden in Coconut Grove, Florida, from which it 

escaped and spread. By 1990, it had become established in the wild as far as 30 miles from Coconut Grove and along 

disturbed edges throughout Miami-Dade County. Burma reed has no known economic value and, in Bhutan, is reported to 

be poisonous to buffalo. 

BIOLOGY & SPREAD 

Burma reed reproduces by seed and through underground stems called rhizomes. Burma reed plants flower twice each 

year, producing hundreds of thousands of tiny seeds that are dispersed by the wind. New clumps of Burma reed emerge 

from rhizomes that may be embedded in sand, soil, or rubble. Seeds and rhizomes are also transported inadvertently in 

limestone rock from infested quarries that is carried by train from Miami-Dade County, Florida to concrete manufacturers 

throughout the southeastern United States. This unintentional movement of Burma reed material allows it to invade new 

sites in Florida and and adjacent states near limestone distribution centers. 

MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 

Restoration of sites infested with Burma reed requires a long term commitment to ensure effective control and to allow 

native vegetation to become established. Burma reed's deep roots make mechanical removal an extremely labor intensive 

and costly undertaking and causes extensive disturbance to the soil. A more effective management approach involves a 

combination of cutting or prescribed burning, followed by application of herbicides. After cutting, mowing or burning Burma 

reed plants down to the ground, a systemic herbicide like glyphosate, mixed with an acidic surfactant (trade name: 

Roundup Pro®) can be made to prevent new growth. Repeat treatment is likely to be necessary for a couple of years, until 

seed and rhizome stores are exhausted. 

NOTE: Burning of Burma reed vegetation requires a special permit and should not be undertaken without 

training, preparation and assistance. Because Burma reed is an extremely flammable plant, fires may quickly get 

out of hand. 

A successful burn of Burma reed reduces the plant’s massive stalks to ash, eliminating the cost of vegetation removal. 

Conveniently, because Burma reed is the first plant to resprout following a fire, it can be sprayed freely with little concern 

about non-target kills. It should be noted that burning, by itself, whether through prescribed or natural wildfires, may 

enhance the growth and spread of Burma reed if not followed up with chemical or mechanical control. 

In areas where Burma reed is dispersed among desirable native vegetaion, individual plants can be cut at the base using 

a steel blade (e.g., Weed Whacker) and the remaining portions sprayed with Roundup Pro® to prevent new growth. 

Resprouts should be treated with a second herbicide application to the new growth. This method requires highly qualified 

applicators who can target the herbicide to avoid damage to native plants, and may not be cost effective for extensive 

infestations. 

USE PESTICIDES WISELY: Always read the entire pesticide label carefully, follow all mixing and application instructions and wear all 

recommended personal protective gear and clothing. Contact your state department of agriculture for any additional pesticide use 

requirements, restrictions or recommendations. 

NOTICE: mention of pesticide products on this page does not constitute endorsement of any material.

CONTACT 

For more information on the management of Burma Reed, please contact: 

• Renee Rasha, Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management; rrasha at co.palmbeach.fl.us 

• The Nature Conservancy, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, (352) 846-5949 

SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE PLANTS 

Several native grasses and other plants are available that can be substituted for Burma reed, including Fakahatchee 

grass (Tripsacum dactyloides), switch grass (Panicum virgatum), and Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris). In the pine 
20 May 2005 Page 3 of 3 

Plant Conservation Alliance®s Alien Plant Working Group 

Xeeds HoneXild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas 

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/

rocklands, the following grasses are recommended: bluestem (Schizachrium rhizomatum); wire bluestem (Schizachyrium 

gracile); wiregrass (Aristica stricta); Florida mock gamagrass (Tripsacum floridanum). In coastal uplands or disturbed 

sites, areas could be enhanced with pinewoods finger grass (Eustachys petraea). 

AUTHOR 

Renee Rasha, Environmental Analyst, Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management, West 

Palm Beach, FL 

EDITOR

Jil M. Swearingen, National Park Service, Washington, DC 

PHOTOGRAPHS 

Joe Maguire, Miami Dade County Natural Areas Management; photograph of fire by S. Demetropoulos; other 

photographs courtesy of Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management. 

REFERENCES 

Bor, N.L. 1960. The Grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan. Pergamon Press, New York, 767 pp. 

Gordon, D.R. and K.P. Thomas. 1997. Florida’s invasion by non-indigenous plants: history, screening, and regulation. In 

Simberloff, D., D.C. Schmitz, and T.C. Brown (eds.), Strangers in Paradise: Impact and Management of 

Nonindigenous Species in Florida. Island Press, Washington, DC. 467 pp. 

Guala, Jr., G.F. 1990. Element Stewardship Abstract for Neyraudia reynaudiana. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA. 

5 pp. 

Hammer, R.L. 1998. Wildland Weeds. Summer 1998. Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 9. 

Langeland , K.A. and K. Craddock Burks, Eds. 1998. Invasive Non-native Plants of Florida’s Natural Areas. University of 

Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council. 

Lazarides, M. 1980. The Tropical Grasses of Southeast Asia. J. Cramer, Vaduz. 225 pp. 

Maguire J. 1993. Status of Burma reed in Dade County pine rocklands. Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Newsletter 

Noltie, H.J. 1998. Flora of Bhutan. Volume 3. Publisher Royal Botanic Garden Publications,. Edinburgh (scheduled for 

publication in 1999) 

Schmitz, D.C., D. Simberloff, R.H. Hofstetter, W. Haller, and D. Sutton. 1997. The ecological impacts of nonindigenous 

plants. In Simberloff, D., D.C. Schmitz, and T.C. Brown (eds.), Strangers in Paradise: Impact and Management of 

Nonindigenous Species in Florida. Island Press, Washington, DC. 467 pp. 

Swearingen, J. 2009. WeedUS Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States: Burma Reed (Neyraudia 

reynaudiana). http://www.invasive.org/weedus/subject.html?sub=6081. 

The Nature Conservancy. Neyraudia reynaudiana: Element Stewardship Abstract. In: Wildland Weeds Management & 

Research Program, Weeds on the Web. 

USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 

70874-4490 USA.