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branched bur-reed
Scientific Name: Sparganium androcladum
Family: Sparganiaceae
Category: Monocot
Growth: Forb/herb
Duration: Perennial
Other Names: IN (branching bur-reed), PA (branching bur-reed),
Branched Bur-Reed (Sparganium erectum)
Branched bur-reed, also known as simplestem bur-reed, is a common aquatic plant found in various wet habitats.
Considerations for Pets
- This plant produces prickly green fruit in August.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Scientific Name: Sparganium erectum
- Common Names: Branched bur-reed, Simplestem bur-reed
- Genus: Sparganium
- Family: Typhaceae (formerly Sparganiaceae, or Cattail Family)
- Taxonomic Notes: Six subspecies are recognized.
- Synonyms: May refer to Sparganium androcladum. Another species to consider is Sparganium neglectum
Distribution and Habitat
- Branched bur-reed thrives in still or slowly flowing water, such as wet ditches, canals, fens, lake-sides, river-sides, and ponds.
- It is a UK native plant that grows well in pond margins and bog gardens.
- It has been found at various wetland sites in the north-west of England and East Anglia.
- Specific locations include Knutsford, Cheshire; and Bury, Lancs.
Morphology and Growth Habits
- It is an aquatic emergent plant that grows rooted in the mud at the margins of waterbodies.
- This rhizomatous, perennial, aquatic herb can grow up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) high.
- It has narrow, smooth, and keeled leaves that are erect. The leaves are strap shaped.
- The stiff, upright stems are branched in the upper parts.
- Strongly curved leaves emerge from the armpits of each branch, which are alternate.
- Female flowers are in globose flowerheads (capitula) on short stems.
- Numerous and smaller male flowers are at the ends of each branch.
Ecological Role
- It is a good plant for food and shelter for wildlife.
Interactions with Other Organisms
- The larvae of the moth Plusia may interact with this plant.
Quirky Facts
- Branched bur-reed has "quirky spiked flowers".
Additional Information
- It can be distinguished from Unbranched Bur-reed (Sparganium emersum), which has flowers in a single, unbranched spike.
- The leaf spikes can be distinguished from other similar plants, such as Bulrush.
- Flowering period: July - August.