Reed buds are the young shoots of reeds, also called asparagus. Their appearance is similar to bamboo shoots. Reed buds mostly grow in rivers, lakes, ponds, ditches and low wetlands. After the reed buds are peeled off, the stems inside are segmented one by one, usually white or green. The ones buried in the soil usually turn white, and the ones exposed to light turn green. When it grows up, it becomes a reed. Its leaves, leaf sheaths, stems, rhizomes and adventitious roots all have aerenchyma, so it plays an important role in purifying sewage.

Reed is a multi-type species widely distributed around the world. Except for forest habitats where it does not grow, various open areas with water sources often form contiguous reed communities due to their rapidly expanding reproductive capacity.

Although reed is a moisture-loving plant, it should not be flooded for a long time to avoid root rot due to lack of oxygen in the soil. Therefore, the construction of reed fields requires supporting drainage and irrigation facilities, deep ditches and large canals, so that the low-lying reed fields that are prone to flooding can be drained in time, and can also divert floods and siltation during the rising season of the Yangtze River, so that the average annual silt in the reed fields can reach 5 -20cm thick.

The introduction of siltation for many years can raise the reed field, lower the groundwater level, improve the soil, and facilitate the growth of reeds.