CAT-TAIL FAMILY. 347 



ORDER LXXIIL TYPHA'CE^E. (CAT-TAIL FAMILY.) 



Marsh herbs, with linear or narrow-ensiform leaves, sheathing at base, and monoecious 

 flowers, destitute of proper floral envelopes in a dense cylindric spadix-like sjrike or glome- 

 rate in heads. Fruit nut-like when ripe, 1-seeded. Seed suspended ; embryo straight, in 



1. TY'PHA, Tournef. CAT-TAIL. 



[Greek, typhos, a bog or marsh ; from its place of growth.] 



Flowers in a long dense terminal cylindric interrupted spike with an 

 intervening caducous spathe, the upper portion consisting of stamens 

 only, intermixed with simple hairs, the lower portion consisting of 

 ovaries surrounded by numerous clavate bristles ; style simple. Nutlets 

 minute, stalked. Smooth perennials with creeping r/uzomas, and simple 

 jointless stems and long narrow, thickish, erect leaves which nearly equal 

 the culm. 



1. T, latifo'lia, L. Leaves somewhat ensiform-linear, flat ; staminate 

 and pistillate spikes mostly contiguous. 



BROAD-LEAVED TYPHA. Cat-tail. Coopers' Reed. Reed-mace. 

 Fr. Masse d'eau. Germ. Die Rohrkolbe. Span. Espadaiia. 



Culm 4-5 feet high, simple, terete, smooth, solid with pith, leafy at base. Leaves about 

 as long as the culm, and % - % of an inch wide, tapering at apex but obtuse, sheathing 

 the culm at base. Staminate spike, or spadix, 6-8 inches long, and near an inch in diam- 

 eter, yellowish-brown, with a sheathing membranaceous caducous spalhe as long as the 

 spike. Pistillate spike immediately below (and about as thick as) the staminate one, 

 4-6 inches long, greenish-brown, sometimes in contact or continuous with the staminate 

 spike, sometimes with a naked space of near half an inch between them. 



Pools and swampy springs : throughout the United States. Fl. June - July. Fr. Sep- 

 tember. 



06s. The leaves of this plant are (or formerly were) much used, by the 

 coopers, to secure the joints of casks, &c., from leaking. Poor people 

 sometimes collect the fruit with its hairy involucels, from the mature 

 spikes, for the purpose of filling beds ; but it becomes exceedingly dusty 

 and unpleasant, and is even unhealthy, in every respect a miserable 

 substitute for clean Oats chaff, or cut straw. A narrow-leaved variety, 

 by some considered a species (T, angustifolia, L.}, is found in similar 

 situations ; it usually has the staminate and pistillate portions of the 

 spike separated by an interval. 



ORDER LXXIY. ALISMA'CE^E. (WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY.) 



Marsh herbs with scape-like stems and perfect or monoecious flowers, not on a spadix, fur- 

 nished with both calyx and corolla ; sepals and petals each 3, distinct. Stamens hypogy- 

 iious. 6 -many. Ovaries 3 -many, becoming as many 1 -2-seeded pods or akenes. Se~d& 

 ascending or erect. Embryo without albumen. Leaves sheathing at base. 



1. SAGITTA'RIA, L. ARROW-HEAD. 



[Latin, Sagilia, an arrow ; from the prevailing form of the leaves.] 



Flowers monoscious (sometimes dioecious), mostly whorled in threes, the 



