Amazing Natural Botany: November 2021 # 1/ One day by the river
Somewhere flowers are blooming and rains are coming, but here, in the Southern Urals, the rivers will "stop" very soon.
If we consider today a walk as an acquaintance with representatives of botany, then why don't we pay attention to the thickets of reeds? It grows everywhere along the banks of water bodies. Its thickets are picturesque, but sometimes extremely aggressive, as it leads to waterlogging of the coast. TThe reed is a tall plant, usually its panicles are visible somewhere at a height of 4 meters or even higher (I have met thickets of reeds 6 meters high)
If we move a little away from the picturesque nature of its appearance, then we can say that man has mastered the reed long ago and quite successfully.
There is a lot of starch in the rhizomes of the plant, therefore, in the old days, flour was made from dry rhizomes. The root white part of the reeds is also edible, it tastes sweet and juicy.
Many fishermen aare aware of this feature. If a person suddenly finds himself in difficult conditions, then hunger can be avoided if reeds grow nearby. The plant contains a lot of starch and sugars. By the way, fish also loves to eat fresh shoots of the plant.
Reed stems and leaves were used to weave baskets, bags, floor rugs and mats. For these purposes, reeds were harvested in late summer or early autumn. The stems were cut 15 cm from the ground and then dried well. Plants were used both as fuel and in construction.
In a word, reeds have brought great benefit to man in a utilitarian sense.
We, while walking by the river, watch with pleasure how the wind shakes the panicles of reeds. TThe plant forms numerous islets, habitats those spaces that a person leaves without care and attention.
