''Sparganium angustifolium'' is a species of flowering plant in the
cat-tail family known by the common names floating bur-reed
and narrowleaf bur-reed.
It has a
circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is an
aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
, growing in water up to 2.5 meters deep. Its habitat includes acidic, low-nutrient freshwater bodies such as ponds, lakes, slow-moving streams, and ditches. It can become abundant, practically covering the surface of the water. It is a perennial herb producing a floating stem with long, narrow, flattened leaves which can be quite long, sometimes reaching over two meters. It is
monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy i ...
, individual plants bearing both male and female
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...
s. These are spherical, the male inflorescence a ball of
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
s and the female inflorescence a ball of developing fruits.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
angustifolium
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