Wetland Plants of Wisconsin

Typha latifolia L.
broad-leaved cattail
Family: Typhaceae
population
inflorescence at anthesis
inflorescence, mid-summer
inflorescence, mature
base of stems rhizome
 

Typha latifolia is a common native species of marshes. It can be distinguished from Typha angustifolia and the hybrid T. X glauca by its wider leaves (on average, though there is overlap) and by the placement of the male and female portions of the inflorescence immediately adjacent to one another. In Fall the mature seeds are wind-dispersed by familiar hairlike structures. Robust rhizomes spread the plants vegetatively, often forming large clones and persisting for many years.


known Wisconsin distribution

Acknowledgments

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