''Sparganium emersum'' is a species of flowering plant in the
cat-tail family known by the common names European bur-reed
and unbranched bur-reed.
It has a
circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of Eurasia and North America. 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 shallow water bodies such as ponds and streams. It can become abundant at times. It is a perennial herb producing a floating stem up to 2 meters long. The leaves may be limp and floating or stiff and erect, emerging above the water surface. The leaves are flat and straplike, sometimes with a triangular, keeled base that can help distinguish it from the similar ''
Sparganium angustifolium''. 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 growing beneath the male spheres.
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment: ssp. ''emersum''Washington Burke MuseumUBC Botany Photo of the DayPhoto gallery
emersum
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