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Common name: Cat-tail Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 10–12.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit anthocarp; simple; cypsela (Spjut did not regard the "head" as the "fruit"); without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within perianth (composed of hairs thus epicarp is hairy); 1-seeded; 1-seeded; 1-carpellate; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex beaked; apex long beaked; dehiscent (tardily after fruit falls from head). Dehiscent unit seed(s) (single-seeded). Dehiscent regularly (eventually); passively; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades); durable; not glabrous (with hairs); hairs long (and basal); hairs dense; hairs not glandular; without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp absent. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth; without wing; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without mechanism for seedling escape; without grooves; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed linear; in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm and perisperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; surface unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or merged raised features; surface punctate; surface striate; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other; without glands; without bristles; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades); thicker than testa of species in Sparganiaceae; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear; moderate, or copious; mealy, or fleshy; smooth; with starch; with proteins and oils; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Perisperm scanty. Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); 0.5–1.2 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 1 cotyledon. Cotyledons one and terminal with lateral plumule; not circinately coiled. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Dahlgren et al. (1985): "Fruit small 'stipitate', fusiform and achenelike, but finally dehiscent and therefore follicular". Embryo 6–9 times longer than wide.
Weed information
1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: New Hampshire (NH), Puerto Rico (PR).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Typha gracilis Jord. (=Typha lugdunensis P. Chabert): USA state noxious weed: NHª. -- Typha laxmannii Lepech.: USA state noxious weed: NHª. -- Typha minima Funck ex Hoppe: USA state noxious weed: NHª. -- Typha spp.: USA state noxious weed: PRª. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Typha latifolia L. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Typha L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1155. Hotchkiss, N. & H.L. Dozier. 1949. Taxonomy and distribution of N. American cat-tails. Amer. Midl. Nataturalist 41:237–254.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Dahlgren, R.M.T., H.T. Clifford and P.F. Yeo. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons, 520 pp. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Gaertner, J. 1788–1805. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. The Author, Stuttgart, Goldberg, A. 1986 (dicots) and 1989 (monocots). Classification, evolution, and phylogeny of the familes of Dicotyledons. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 58 for dicots (314 pp.) and 71 for monocots (74 pp.). [Goldberg's illustrations are reproduced from older publications and these should be consulted], Gunn, C.R. and C.A. Ritchie. 1988. Identification of disseminules listed in the Federal Noxious Weed Act. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1719:1–313, Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Hotchkiss & Dozier (1949), Karen. Seed illustration(s): Gunn & Ritchie. Embryo illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Karen, Martin. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 356: Typha angustifolia L. (A-B).
• Seed. 1 of 2. Typha angustifolia L.: fruits. • Embryo. 2 of 2. Typha angustifolia L.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
