Investigations on the common cat-tail, Typha latifolia.

Abstract

T. latifolia is a tall (up to 3m), semi-aquatic perennial herb with characteristically brown (sausage-like) female flowers, which persist for months (the male flowers are located above the female's ""sausage"" and quickly disintegrate). It is found in a wide range of habitats, marshes, ponds, ditches, and lakeshores, from seasonally-saturated soils to areas with standing water up to two feet deep. Gleason and Cronquist consider it cosmopolitan and, throughout our range, the common species inland.