Is Arundo donax "e-grass"?

Here is more info about Arundo donax.

The front page of the Wall Street Journal recently featured an article entitled, Arundo Has Two Lives: A Pest in California, a Boon to Florida (Wed., October 16, 2002). The article, about Arundo donax, giant reed, states that "Environmentalists here [in Florida] see the plant as a godsend, offering a fast-growing replacement for coal and wood products without gouging the earth or chopping down forests." The article goes on to explain that a company, Biomass Industries, "with the blessings of the Northern Florida Sierra Club," has secured a contract with Jacksonville city utilities to deliver electricity derived from the burning (gasification) of tons of giant reed. The giant reed is to be grown on an 8,000 acre Arundo farm on "leased land near the Everglades." Reportedly, a gasification plant will be built on the farm and the electricity it produces will be transmitted from there to Jacksonville. According to the Journal, the eight thousand acres of Arundo are to be planted in Spring, 2003.

In California, there exists a "multimillion-dollar federal and state effort" to rid the state of Arundo, which is listed in the A-1, Most Invasive Wildland Pest Plants - Widespread list of the California Exotic Pest Plant Council. "State officials, along with local Sierra Club chapters and other environ-mental groups, blame the reed for fueling wildfires, causing floods and killing fish. Arundo ranks near the top of the state's list of botanical pests." In Florida, it is not listed as an invasive plant, although it may be found locally around the state.

For its purposes, the Arundo donax-growing company's Web site and literature refers to the plant as "e-grass." http://www.egrass.com

Team Arundo del Norte (California), a forum of local, state, and federal organizations dedicated to the control of Arundo donax (giant reed): http://www.teamarundo.org/

The Nature Conservancy Wildland Invasive Species Team on Arundo donax: http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/arundona.html

Editor's note: The North Florida Sierra Club has stated that they were misrepresented in the Wall Street Journal article and that they do not support the introduction of Arundo donax or any other species without a review . . . to understand the implications of introduction.

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