so i was doing some gardening outside today and i found some grass that looks an AWFUL lot like my variegated phalaris arund. the only noticeable difference being the leaves are unstriped.

is it safe to assume this is phalaris as well? or are there a lot of look-alikes.
if so how do i get a positive i.d.?

There are many grasses that look like phalaris, there are different phalaris species which may or may not have tryptamines or toxic alkaloids, etc.. If you want, you should take detailed pictures of it (leaf blades, flowers, seeds if there are, etc), because that kind of description is certainly not enough.

Take pictures and post them here. One picture you need is the shot of where the leaf attaches to the stem. Pull the leaf back just a bit and there is a little flap that sticks up from where the leaf attaches to the stem. This is a KEY spot to ID the Pharalis.

Pharalis grows in mainly ditches, but can grow in many places. This time of year (in Canada) it is VERY tall right now with rather exaggerated in height and leaves compared to regular grass.

i took a picture but my only camera is an old iphone which takes shit pictures, but i will say that the leaf sheath, leaf blade, and ligule are identical to my phalaris in appearance.
the only thing i haven't compared is the rhizome and that is because i don't know what to look for, and i haven't even inspected mine (even though i did re-pot them) so i have no basis of comparison.

so.... safe to assume it's phalaris then?

Im not sure, maybe someone else knows.

But even if we would say its phalaris, still there's no clue on whether it would have the right alkaloids or a good amount.

Please proceed with caution, ideally look into colorimetric reagents and tlc, bioassay starting with very small amounts if you do.. check the thread in my signature and others there if you didnt yet.

Let us know if you experiment, whether it works or not.

i did a cursory glance of tlc but it really all seems over my head and pricey : /

also how exact an analysis can you get with colorimetric reagents? from what i read on wiki you basically just add a reagant to your material and a control and wait for it to turn a color?

that doesn't seem like it would precisely indicate contents of different alkaloids, but i have just about zero knowledge when it comes to this stuff...

Yup it has the ligule membrane present.
Maybe Jamie knows more here?