BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Typha latifolia | Common Cattail 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Common cattail is an erect, rhizomatous, semiaquatic or aquatic,
perennial herb.  Twelve to sixteen erect, linear, flat, basal leaves
arise from each vegetative shoot, which are 0.3 to 0.6 inch (8-15 mm)
wide and 3 to 10 feet (1-3 m) tall.  The stout rhizomes, which are
located 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm) below the soil surface, grow up to 27
inches (70 cm) in length and are typically 0.2 to 1.2 inches (0.5-3 cm)
in diameter [12,30].  Common cattail is monoecious.  The inflorescence
is a dark brown, cylindrical terminal spike on a stout, 3- to 10-foot
(1-3 m) stem.  The staminate portion is positioned above the pistillate
portion; they are continuous or slightly separated [16,45].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Geophyte
   Helophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Common cattail reproduces sexually and asexually.  Vegetative
reproduction occurs through an extensive rhizome system and is
responsible for the maintenance and expansion of existing stands.
Sexual reproduction via seed dispersal and seedling establishment is
responsible for invasion of new areas.

Seed production and dispersal:  Common cattail is a prolific producer of
minute seeds.  Each spike may contain 117,000 to 268,000 seeds [47].  At
maturity, the spike bursts under dry conditions, releasing the fruits.
Each fruit has bristly hairs that aid in wind dispersal.  When the fruit
comes in contact with water, the pericarp opens rapidly, releasing the
seed, which then sinks [12].  In wet weather the fruits often fall to
the ground in dense mats [39].

Germination and seedling establishment:  Common cattail seeds are
capable of germinating immediately after shedding under favorable
conditions, but require moist or wet substrates, warm temperatures, low
oxygen concentrations, and long day-short night exposures for
germination to occur [4,38].  Sifton [38] achieved the highest
germination rates (86-89%) at temperatures from 77 to 86 degrees
Fahrenheit (25-30 C).  Because of the relatively high temperature
required for germination, seeds overwinter in northern latitudes, but
not necessarily in southern latitudes [27].  In a southeastern Wisconsin
marsh, hybrid cattail (T. X glauca) seeds germinated from May through
September, with the greatest number of seedlings seen in June and the
fewest in September [3].  Following summer marsh drawdown in
northwestern Minnesota, common cattail seedlings appeared on moist,
vegetation-free areas 10 days after soil exposure [48].  Light,
temperature, and oxygen requirements for germination are best met in
shallow water or on moist mudflats in vegetation-free areas.  Within
established common cattail stands, seedlings are practically
nonexistent.  This is because existing vegetative cover greatly reduces
light and temperature for germination, and because cattail leaves and
stems may produce allelopathic inhibitors [12,28].

Once established, a single seedling spreads rapidly by rhizomes.  In
Montana, a single seed planted in a stock tank on April 1, grew into a
massive network of clones with 98 aerial shoots and 104 lateral buds by
November 1 [47].  Grace and Wetzel [13] reported that 2 years after
germination, common cattail may spread over an area of 624 square feet
(58 sq m).


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Common cattail grows just about anywhere that soil remains wet,
saturated, or flooded most of the growing season [12].  Common habitats
include wet meadows, marshes, fens, pond and lake margins, floating bog
mats, seacoast estuaries, roadside ditches, irrigation canals, oxbow
lakes, and backwater areas of rivers and streams [7,12,17].  It is
tolerant of continuous inundation and seasonal drawdowns but is
generally restricted to areas where the water depth never exceeds about
2.6 feet (80 cm) [5,13].  It grows mostly in fresh water but also occurs
in slightly brackish marshes [12,47].  Along water depth gradients,
common cattail often grows upslope of bulrush or open water but
downslope of common reed (Phragmites australis), reed canarygrass
(Phalaris arundinacea), and willow (Salix spp.) [12,17].

When common cattail and narrow-leaved cattail cooccur, they are
frequently segregated by water depth, with common cattail found in
shallow water and narrow-leaved cattail in deep water [13].

Soils:  Cattail stands produce enormous quantities of litter.
Established stands tend to grow on soils with high amounts of organic
matter.  Common cattail may also grow on fine-textured mineral soils,
but the soils often have organic matter incorporated into at least the
surface horizons [33].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Common cattail is often a dominant component of early successional
stages in wetlands.  It rapidly colonizes exposed wet mineral soils, as
it produces an extremely high number of seeds, which are dispersed by
wind and water.  On logged-over black spruce (Picea mariana) lowlands in
Ontario, common cattail quickly invades exposed peat and water-filled
depressions created by logging machinery [6].  It is also an early seral
species occupying the water's edge on floating bog mats [7].  Along
oxbow lakes on the Athabaska River in Alberta, Canada, common cattail
was abundant only on sites showing evidence of recent flooding.  On
oxbows with stable water levels, common cattail was replaced by awned
sedge (Carex atherodes) and common rivergrass (Scolichloa festucacea),
with gradual siltation and organic matter buildup [21].  In some
situations where water levels remain constant, common cattail maintains
relatively stable communities [17].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
The general pattern of common cattail phenological development includes
spring rhizome sprouting and rapid leaf production, early to midsummer
flowering, and leaf senescence and new rhizome production in the fall
[12].  Timing of sprouting varies with water depth, with deep water
shoots sprouting before those in shallow water.  Spring growth is
usually rapid and sudden, and is almost entirely leaf growth.

Along the Athabaska River in northeastern Alberta, Canada, common
cattail growth began in late May, and stems reached maximum weight by
mid-August.  Shoots which began growth in spring showed substantial leaf
senescence by late August [21].

Hybrid cattail (T. X glauca) phenology in southeastern Wisconsin was as
follows [3]:

   April - sprout or primary aerial shoot begins growth
     May - new shoots elongating and growing above the water level
    June - staminate and pistillate spikes formed, carbohydrate levels
           in rhizomes at minimum in late June
  Winter - plants dormant, maximum levels of stored carbohydrates

Phenology of common cattail near Gainsville, Florida, was as follows [34]:  

mid- to late May - flowering
June to early August - fruit ripening
mid-August to mid-Nov. - sporadic fruit dispersal during low humidity   
February through May - active growth
Nov., Dec., Jan. - dormancy

Related categories for Species: Typha latifolia | Common Cattail