. A \ 
522 CXXXVI. TYPHACEZ. TyYpPHa. 
lateral stamens, the latter of a simple, carinate ovary, with a style 
and stigma—® Herbs, consisting of a frond (stem and leaf confounded) 
sending down from the under surface, roots which hang loosely im the 
water, and producing from the margins the spathaceous flowers. 
1. L. rrisutca. Ivy-leaved Duck-meat. . 
Fronds elliptic-lanceolate, thin, serrate at one extremity and caudate at 
the other; roots solitary.—F loating in ponds and pools of clear water. Fronds 
nearly 3’ in length, diaphanous, with a tail-like appendage at base, obtuse at 
apex, the new ones issuing in a cruciate manner from lateral fissures in the 
margin of the old. Root a solitary fibre, ending in a sheath. Flowers very 
minute. Utricle sitting on the upper surface of the frond. June—Sept. 
2. L. minor. Lesser Duck-meat. 
Fronds nearly ovate, compressed ; root solitary.—This little floating plant 
occurs in dense patches on the surface of stagnant waters. The leaves, pro- 
perly fronds, adhere 2—3 together, 1’ in length, rather thick, and convex below. 
Root undivided, sheathed at the end. Flowers minute from a cleft in the mar- 
gin of the fronds, near the base. Jn.—Sept. 
3. L. aippa. Gibbous Duck-meat. 
Fronds obovate, hemispherical beneath, nearly plain above; root solitary. 
—Floating on the surface of stagnant waters, N. York. Fronds about a line 
in length, pellucid and reticulated beneath. June—Sept. 
4. L. potyrHiza. (Spirodela. Schleiden.) 
Fronds broad-ovate, a little convex beneath ; roots numerous.—Floatin 
in stagnant waters. Fronds resembling flax-seed, but larger (2—4” long), 
scattered on the surface of the water, of a firm, but succulent texture, becoming 
purplish. Roots in thick bundles of 8—10 black fibres from the under surface 
of the fronds. All these species are eaten by ducks and other aquatic birds. 
June—Sept. 
Orpver CXXXVI. TYPHACEA.—Tyrnaps. 
Herbs, growing in marshes or ditches. Stems without joints. 
Lvs. rigid, ensiform, with parallel veins. __ 
Fis. monecious, arranged upon a spadix with no spathe. 
Cal.—Sepals 3 or 0. olla 0. 2 
Sta. 3—6. Filaments long and slender. Amthers cuneiform, erect. , 
Ova. 1, free; 1-celled, with a solitary, pendulous ovule. Styles short. Stig. 1—2. 
Fr.—Utricle with an albuminous seed. 
Genera 2, species 13, in ditches and marshes throughout the world. 
Genera. 
ie and cylindrical. See ee ee Ee OS 1 
Spadix of flowers¢globose. . . . o* 0° val et SF Rae os ee eeeesrenes, 
ed Ak 
Gr. rvgos, a marsh; where all the species grow. 
Spadix of flowers long, cylindric, dense. ¢ Stamens about 3 toge- 
ther, united into a common filament. @ flowers below the sterile ; 
ovary pedicellate, surrounded at base by a hair-like pappus.—Root 
UW. Spadiz terminal. F'ls. very numerous. 
1. T. vatiroia (and angustifolia. Linn.) Cat-tail. Reed Mace. 
Lvs. ensiform, concave within near the base; sterile and fertile spikes close 
together, or a little remote——A common, smooth, tall inhabitant of the water 
in muddy Is and ditches, U. S., Can. The stem arises from 3 to 5f, round 
and smooth, leafy below, terminated by the large cylindric spikes.- Spikes of a 
brown color, 6—10’ in length, composed of slender, downy flowers so compact, 
particularly the fertile ones, as to be of considerable hardness. The upper 
portion is smaller, composed of the sterile flowers. Leaves somewhat sword- 
shaped, erect, 2—4f long and nearly 1’ wide. They are called flags, and made 
useful for weaving the seats of chairs, &e. July. 
y 
B. angustifolia. Sterile and fertile spikes a little remote (}—2’).—Found in 
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