MEADOWSWEET
CATTAILS
CATTAIL FLOWERMonday, 8:00 AM. 72 degrees, wind NW, light. The sky is partly cloudy and the barometer predicts the same. It will be a warm day.
Cattails have a rather unusual flower structure, the male flowers being produced above the female, on the same flowering stalk. This is quite evident, particularly before the “cat tail” sets seed. Cattails are in the genus Typha, and are very primitive flowering plants, just a step above the Gymnosperms, or conifers. They are monocots, like grasses, sedges and lilies. T. latifolia (wide leaved) and T. angustifolia (narrow leaved) are both native, that pictured probably being the latter. They may grow together, and often hybridize. There are perhaps ten species of cattails, growing throughout much of the world. These are along Hw 13 near the beach.
Also In bloom at the beach is meadow sweet, Spirea alba. It is a native shrub of wet areas, and is quite nice in flower.
No comments:
Post a Comment