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• Typhaceae
• Sparganium
• Sparganium androcladum

Sparganium androcladum — branched bur-reed

Facts

Branched bur-reed is found in shallow, still or slow-moving water in parts of New England. This species is easily confused with the more common American bur-reed (Sparganium americanum), from which it is distinguished by having wider fruiting spikes 2.5 to 3.5 cm (1 to 1.4 in) in diameter, versus 1.5 to 2.5 cm (0.6 to 1 in) in American bur-reed.

Habitat

Lacustrine (in lakes or ponds), riverine (in rivers or streams), shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Anther length

  1–1.5 mm

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another

  Flower bracts

  there are bracts associated with the flower

  Flower petal color

  • green to brown
  • white

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Hairs on flower stalk

  NA

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)

  Inflorescence width

  25–35 mm

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal appearance

  the petals are green and/or leafy in texture

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Stamen number

  • 1 or 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are fused to one another at or near their bases

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are not fused to the petals or tepals

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are similar in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Capsule ridges

  NA

  Fruit beak length

  4–7 mm

  Fruit compartments

  there is only one locule in the fruit

  Fruit length

  5–7 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  • the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
  • the fruit is an achene (dry, usually 1-seeded, does not separate or split open at maturity)

  Fruit width

  2.5–3 mm

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade cross-section

  • the leaf blade is U- or V-shaped
  • the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  Up to 1200 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  • aquatic
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • in lakes or ponds
  • in rivers or streams
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is held upright

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae