Cattail

Cattails (called Bullrushes in England) bear unisexual flowers developing in dense, complex spikes. The male flower spike (the top, narrow part) develops at the top of the vertical stem, above the female flower spike (the darker, lower part). The male (staminate) flowers are reduced to a pair of stamens and hairs and wither once the pollen is shed, leaving a short, bare stem portion above the female inflorescence. The dense cluster of female flowers forms a cylindrical spike some 10 to as much as 40 cm long and 1 to 4 cm broad. Seeds are minute (about 0.2 mm long), and attached to a thin hair or stalk, which effects wind dispersal. I love seeing Cattails around the edge of any wetland.