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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Typha latifolia
common cattail

 
Scientific Name: Typha latifolia L.
English Name: common cattail
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vascular Plant
Species Code: TYPHLAT
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Plantae Anthophyta Monocotyledoneae Typhales Typhaceae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Jul 2024)
Provincial Status: S5 (Apr 2019)
BC List: Yellow
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 4 - Secure (2010)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Technical Description: The cattail genus can grow 3 or more meters in height. The linear cattail leaves are thick, ribbon-like structures which have a spongy cross-section exhibiting air channels. The subterranean stem arises from thick creeping rhizomes. North American cattails have minute, brown colored male flowers (staminate) thickly clustered on a club-like spadix. The lower portion of the spadix bares the female flowers (pistillate). There are three species and several hybrids in the cattail genus which occur in North America (Smith 1961, 1962, 1967). Typha latifolia fruits are about 1 cm long with hairs arising near the base.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Typha latifolia, Broad-leaved Cattail, is distinguished from T. angustifolia, Narrow-leaved Cattail, by the relative width of the leaf and the position of the staminate and pistillate portions of the spadix (heads). Typha latifolia has 6-23 mm wide leaves that are flat, sheathing, and pale grayish-green in color. Typha angustifolia has 3-8 mm wide leaves that are full green and somewhat convex on back (USDA 1971). In T. latifolia the staminate and pistillate heads are contiguous or nearly so, whereas in T. angustifolia the heads are separated by approximately 3 cm.

Cattail fruits differ among the two major species. Typha angustifolia fruits are about 5-8 mm long with hairs arising above the middle. Typha latifolia fruits are about 1 cm long with hairs arising near the base (USDA 1971).
Similar Species:
Global Reproduction Comments: Cattails flower in late May and June and sometimes later (up to late July) depending, perhaps, on soil and water temperatures as influenced by climate and litter in a stand. The wind-borne pollen attaches to stigmas of female florets to eventually produce achene fruits. The elongated embryo and stalk are covered with fine, unmatted hairs that aid in wind dispersal. Fruits are mature in August and September. Seeds are very small, weighing 0.055 mg each (Keddy and Ellis 1985).

Many cattail germination studies have been conducted. Some of these suggest that germination requirements are few. Seed germination can be 100 percent in slightly flooded conditions (Smith 1967). Typha latifolia seeds are less tolerant to salt (NaCl) concentrations in the substrate when compared to T. angustifolia seeds. However, seeds of both species which had been soaked in salt solution would germinate after being returned to non-saline conditions (McMillan 1959). Typha angustifolia seeds showed no significant germination response when sprouted along a moisture gradient which ranged from 5 cm below substrate to 10 cm above (Keddy and Ellis 1985). Other studies have confirmed that water is required at a depth of 2.54 cm for germination. Sifton (1959) showed light and low oxygen tensions affected germination of broad-leaved cattail.

Van der Valk and Davis (1976) suggested that the germination of Typha seeds could be inhibited by an allelopathic interaction caused by Typha litter. Seed longevity and dormancy may be affected by soil moisture, temperature and soil atmosphere (Schafer and Chilcote 1970, Roberts 1972, Meyer and Poljakoff-Mayber 1963, Morinaga 1926).

Young Typha shoots grow rapidly from seeds in favorable substrates. Cattail colonies are commonly maintained by vegetative reproduction. A perennial root stock is the major organ responsible for reproduction (Apfelbaum 1985). Cattail productivity has been well documented. Net annual production has usually been estimated as the maximum standing crop (shoot biomass) values for a good site are generally between 1000 and 1700 g/m (d.w.) (Gustafson 1976). Figures for Typha production mostly exceed the average standing crop yields for maize and sorghum.

Shoot density reports (numbers of stems per square meter) range from 28/m2 (Curtis 1959) in Wisconsin to an extreme example reported by Dykyjova et al. (1971) of 108/m2. In a greenhouse experiment, ninety-eight vegetative shoots and 104 crown buds were produced on a single seedling during it's first year (Timmons et al. 1963). Cattails can produce 20,000-700,000 fruits per inflorescence (Prunster 1941, Marsh 1962, Yeo 1964). Vegetative growth by broad-leaved cattails of 518 cm (17 feet) annually have been recorded (McDonald 1951), and plants grown from seed flowered the second year (Smith 1967, Yeo 1964).

Cattail plants produce a dense rhizome mat and the clustered leaves produce a thick litter layer. Dense cattail growth and litter may reduce the opportunity for other plants to establish or survive (Wesson and Waring 1969).
Global Ecology Comments: The structure of cattail stands as it is, with upright leaves, high leaf area, balanced horizontal and vertical distribution of leaf area and shifts in leaf angle are all factors which permit monoculture success. An open, generously sunny habitat and abundant moisture can provide the setting for maximum cattail production.

Typha plants are mined by caterpillars of the moths Arzama opbliqua and Nonagria oblonga (Klots 1966). Aphids and Colandra pertinaux (the snout beetle) also feed on Typha leaves and stems. The stems may have many species of pupa living within them (Klots 1966). The cattail rhizomes provide food to mammals such as the muskrat. The grazing of muskrats may greatly influence cattail communities. A cycling population of muskrats may reach such a density so as to totally set back a cattail stand for the season. These "eat outs" are important to maintain open water in a balanced system. Muskrats utilize leaves and stems for houses and eat the rhizomes (Zimmerman, pers. comm.). Cattail fruits provide nesting material for terrestrial birds and dry stems may be used by aquatic birds.

Above ground portions die in the late fall and rhizomes overwinter. In Wisconsin, it was found that average winter marsh temperatures greater then 8 degrees C reduced carbohydrate reserves in Typha latifolia to an extent sufficient to inhibit shoot growth in the spring (Adriano et al. 1980). Cattail population success has been correlated with nutrient fertility (Boyd 1971), water level and substrate temperature (Adriano et al. 1980).

The plant tissues can store relatively high concentrations of some metals. Typha appears to have an internal copper and nickel tolerance mechanism. It is not likely that there is an evolutionary selection for heavy metal tolerance, but rather it is inherent in the species (Taylor and Crowder 1984).
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: Cattails have a cosmopolitan distribution and a wide ecological amplitude. Typha can be found in wetlands, sedge meadows, along slow moving streams, river banks, and lake shores. They can grow on a wide gradient of substrate types: wet pure sand, peat, clay and loamy soils. The plant is found in areas of widely fluctuating water levels such as roadside ditches, reservoirs and other disturbed wet soil areas. Cattails commonly invade the pelagic zones of bogs (Gustafson 1976). Typical associates include Phragmites australis, Lythrum salicaria, Spartina spp., Acorus calamus, Scirpus spp., and Sagittaria latifolia.

Typha angustifolia is widely distributed in the eastern and northern United States and is generally restricted to unstable environments, often with basic, calcareous, or somewhat salty soils (Fassett and Calhoun 1952). Narrow-leaved cattail can grow in deeper water compared to T. latifolia, although both species reach maximum growth at a water depth of 50 cm (20 inches) (Grace and Wetzel 1981). A robust hybrid between narrow-leaved and broad-leaved cattail, Typha x glauca, has similar habitat requirements to T. angustifolia.

Typha latifolia is found in the most favorable sites where it competes against other species. T. angustifolia and T. domingensis are restricted to less favorable and more saline habitats when they occur with T. latifolia (Gustafson 1976). Typha latifolia often displaces T. angustifolia in shallow (<15 cm) water, restricting the latter species to deep water (Grace and Wetzel 1981). Typha angustifolia is considered a pioneer in secondary succession of disturbed bogs (Wilcox et al. 1984). Presumably, an increase in the acidity of a bog would lower the pH and reduce the invasion of T. angustifolia. Theodore Cochran (pers. comm), of the University of Wisconsin-Madison herbarium states that most early herbarium specimens are T. latifolia and only recently have T. angustifolia specimens been collected from Wisconsin wetlands.
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Elevation (m) (min / max): Provincial: 
Known Pests: Arzama opbliqua, Nonagria oblonga, Aphids and Colandra pertinaux.
Pollen Vector: ABIOTIC
Wind
Pollinator:
Dispersal: ABIOTIC
Water
Wind
   
 
Provincial Inventory
Inventory Priority:
Ownership of occurrences (Known locations):
Inventory Need:
 
Economic Attributes
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Typha angustifolia is a cosmopolitan species that is found extensively throughout the Northern Hemisphere but more sporadic across the southern hemisphere.
Disjunct, more common elsewhere:
Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere:
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: K. Motivans, S. Apfelbaum, MRO (1987), rev. A. Enns (2020)
Last Updated: Feb 25, 2020
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
Last Literature Search:
   
References and Related Literature
Adriano, D. C., A. Fulenwider, R. R. Shariz, T. G. Ciraudlo, and G. D. Hoyt. 1980. Growth and mineral nutrition of cattail (Typha) as influenced by thermal alteration. J. Environ. Quality 9(4):649-653.
Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 1971. Common Weeds of the United States. Dover Publications: New York. 463 pp.
Apfelbaum, S. I. 1985. Cattail (Typha spp.) management. Natural Areas Journ. 5(3):9-17.
Biesboer, D. D. 1984. Nitrogen fixation associated with natural and cultivated stands of Typha latifolia L. (Typhaceae). Amer. J. Bot. 71(4):505-511.
Dykyjova, D., K. Veblr, and K. Priban. 1971. Productivity and root/shoot ratio of reed swamp species growing in outdoor hydroponic cultures. Folia Geobot. Phytotax., Praha6 233-254.
Fassett, N. C. and B. Calhoun. 1952. Introgression between Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia. Evolution 6:267-379.
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2000. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 22. Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in part), and Zingiberidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 352 pp.
Grace, J. B. and R. G. Wetzel. 1981. Effects of size and growth rate on vegetative reproduction on Typha. Oecologia (Berlin) 50(2):158-161.
Gustafson, T. D. 1976. Production, photosynthesis and the storage and utilization of reserves in a natural stand of Typha latifolia L. Ph. D. thesis. University of Wisconsin -Madison. 102 pp.
Keddy, P. A., and T. H. Ellis. 1985. Seedling recruitment of 11 wetland plant species along a water level gradient: shared or distinct reponses? Can. J. Bot. 63:1876-1879.
Klots, E. B. 1966. Freshwater life. GP Putnams Sons, NY.
Marsh, L. C. 1962. Studies in the genus Typha. Ph.D. Thesis. Syracuse Univ. (Libr. Congr. Card No. Mic 63-3179) Univ. Microfilm, Ann Arbor, Mich. 126 pp.
McDonald, M. E. 1951. The ecology of the Pointe Mouillee Marsh, Michigan, with special reference to the biology of cattail (Typha). Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of Mich., Ann Arbor (Diss, Abstr. 11:312-314).
Meyer, A. M. and A. Poljakoff-Mayber. 1963. The germination of seeds. MacMillan Company, New York. 236 pp.
Morinaga, T. 1926. The favorable effect of reduced oxygen supply on the germination of certain seeds. American Journal of Botany 13:159-166.
Prunster, R. 1941. Germination conditions for Typha muelleri and its practical significance for irrigation channel maintenance. Austral. Counc. Sci. Indus. Res. Jour. 14:129-136.
Roberts, E. H. 1972. Dormancy: a factor affecting seed survival in the soil. Viability of Seeds, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York, pp. 321-359.
Schafer, D. E. and D. O. Chilcote. 1970. Factors influencing perisistence and depletion in buried seed populations. II. The Effect of Soil Temperature and Moisture. Crop. Sci. 10:342-345.
Sifton, H. B. 1959. The germination of light sensitive seeds of Typha latifolia. Can. J. Bot. 37:719-739.
Smith, S. G. 1961. Natural hybridization and taxonomy in the genus Typha with particular reference to California populations. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of California, Berkley.
Smith, S. G. 1962. Natural hybridization among five species of cattail. Am J. Bot. 49:678.
Smith, S. G. 1967. Experimental and natural hybrids in North America Typha (Typhaceae). Am. Midl. Nat. 78:257-287.
Taylor and Crowder. 1984. Copper and nickel tolerance in T. latifolia clones from contaminated and uncontaminated environments. Can. J. Bot. 62:1304-1308.
Van der Valk, A. G. and C. B. Davis. 1976. The seed banks of prairie glacial marshes. Can. J. Bot. 54:1832-1838.
Wesson, G. and P. F. Waring. 1969. The role of light in germination of naturally occurring populations of buried weed seeds. J. Exp. Bot. 20:402-413.
Wilcox, B. A. 1984. Concepts in conservation biology: Applications to the management of biological diversity. P. 155-172.
Yeo, R. R. 1964. Life history of common cattail. Weed 12:284-288.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2020. Species Summary: Typha latifolia. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Oct 18, 2024).