TYPHACE^: CAT-TAIL FAMILY 



Typha angustifolia, L. 



Yellow-brown Cat-o' -nine-tails, 



Cat-tail Flag, 



June-July Lesser Reed Mace, 



Narrow-leaved Cat-tail. 



Typha: Greek for fen or marsh. 

 Angustifolia: Latin for narrow-leaved. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: brackish marshes. 



THE PLANT: erect, five feet to ten feet high; the stem 

 slender, hairless, often with a bluish tinge. 

 THE LEAVES: basal; very narrow; ribbon-like; obtusish at 

 the apex; grooved at the lower end; parallel- veined. 



THE FLOWERS: in spikes; the staminate and pistillate 

 spikes slender, separated by an interval. 



THE FRUIT: minute nutlets. 



There are two varieties of Cat-o'nine-tails in this coun- 

 try, and, interestingly enough, the Typha latifolia (the 

 larger, stouter kind) is the more common species on the 

 mainland, while the angustifolia is the more prevalent 

 form on Nantucket. Of the latifolia, Mrs. Owen says: 

 "I had to hunt a long time before 1 could find any speci- 

 mens." Although still not very prolific, it has spread 

 since that time. 



Slenderness and stoutness are comparative qualities 

 that at times are difficult to determine in young plants, 

 so one looks for more reliable marks of distinction. This 

 is found in the fact (open to occasional exception!) that 

 in the latifolia the spikes are contiguous, but an interval 

 separates the spikes of the angustifolia. When growing 

 in a marsh, the two look similar. Their stalks are very 



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