CAT-TAIL FAMILY. 63 
2. Typha angustifolia L. Narrow-leaved 
Cat-tail. (Fig. 137.) 
Typha angustifolia 1, Sp. Pl. 971. 1753. 
Stems slender, 5°-10° high. Leaves mostly nar- 
rower than those of the preceding species, 2’/—6/’ 
wide; spikes light brown, the staminate and pistil- 
late portions usually distant, the two together 
sometimes 15’ long, the pistillate, when mature, 
2//-8/ in diameter, and provided with bractlets ; 
stigmas linear or linear-oblong ; pollen-grains sim- 
ple; fruit not furrowed, not bursting in water; outer 
coat of the seed not separable. 
Abundant in marshes along the Atlantic Coast from 
Nova Scotia to Florida and Cuba, but also occurring 
rather rarely inland. Alsoin Europe and Asia. June— 
July. Fruit, Aug.—Sept. 
Family 2. SPARGANIACEAE Agardh, Theor. Syst. Pl. 13.  1858.* 
BUR-REED FAMILY. 
Marsh or pond plants with creeping rootstocks and fibrous roots, erect or 
floating simple or branched stems, and linear alternate leaves, sheathing at the 
base. Flowers monoecious, densely crowded in globose heads at the upper part 
of the stem and branches, the staminate heads uppermost, sessile or peduncled. 
Spathes linear, immediately beneath or at a distance below the head. Perianth 
of a few irregular chaffy scales. Stamens commonly 5, their filaments distinct; 
anthers oblong or cuneate. Ovary sessile, mostly 1-celled. Ovules anatropous. 
Fruit mostly 1-celled, nutlike. Embryo nearly straight, in copious endosperm. 
The family comprises only the following genus. 
1. SPARGANIUM L, Sp. Pl. 971. 1753. 
Characters of the family. [Greek, referring to the ribbon-like leaves. ] 
About to species, of temperate and cold regions. Besides the following, one occurs in California. 
Fruit sessile. 1. S. eurycarpum. 
Fruit stalked. : 
Inflorescence branching. 2. S. androcladum. 
Inflorescence simple. 
Staminate heads 4-6, pistillate 2-6, 5'’-8'’ in diameter. 3. S. simplex. 
Staminate heads 1-2, pistillate 1-3, 2’’-5’’ in diameter. 4. S. minimum. 
1. Sparganium eurycarpum Engelm. Broad-fruited Bur-reed. (Fig. 138.) 
Sparganium eurycarpum Engelm. in A. Gray, \ @ | 
Man. Ed. 2, 430. 1856. | RASH | V) 
Stemsstout, 3°-8° high, branching. Leaves ) ‘ 
linear, flat, slightly keeled beneath, the low- 
est 3°-5° long, the upper shorter; staminate 
heads numerous; pistillate heads 2-4 on the 
stem or branch, sessile or more commonly 
peduncled, hard, compact and 10’/-16’’ in di- 
ameter when mature; style 1; stigmas I-2; 
nutlets sessile, 3//-5’’ long, obtusely 4-5- 
angled, narrowed at the base, the top rounded, 
flattened or depressed, abruptly tipped with 
the style ; scales as long or nearly as long as 
the fruit and as many as its angles, often with 
2 or 3 other exterior ones, somewhat spatu- 
late, the apex rounded, denticulate or eroded. 
In marshes and along streams, Newfoundland 
to British Columbia, south to Virginia, Mis- 
souri, Utah and California. Ascends to 2100 ft. 
in Virginia. May-Aug. 
*Text contributed by the late Rev. THOMAS 
MORONG. 
