FAMILIES OF PLANTS 
29 
nearly vertical. The upright, unbranched stem bears a long, dense 
spike of inconspicuous flowers at the upper end. The upper part 
of this spike is covered with stamens intermixed with long hairs, 
each stamen constituting a flower, while the lower part of the spike 
supports the pistillate flowers, each consisting simply of an ovary 
bearing an abundance of dark hairs at the base. The abundant 
down of the very small fruits was formerly used for stuffing pillows. 
Narrowleaf cattail ( Typha angustifolia) has also been reported in 
the park. 
BUR-REED FAMILY (SPARGANIACEAE) 
A family of water plants with grasslike leaves and greenish flowers 
clustered in dense, spherical, leafy-bracted heads scattered along the 
Figure 11. —Rocky Mountain red cedar. Copyright, J. E. Haynes. 
upper portion of the stem. Sparganium angustifoliu/m is a plant 
with slender stems and long, narrow T leaves that float on the water, 
while Sparganium simplex is more erect, projecting above the water, 
and has leaves that are more or less 3-angled. 
785717°—48-3 
