Sparganium americanum Nutt.
Bur reed
Kingdom Plantae Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom Tracheobionta Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division Magnoliophyta Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class Liliopsida Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass Commelinidae Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
Order Typhales A group including reedlike wetland plants such as cattails
Family Typhaceae Plants, such as cattails, with a single flower spike that has both male and female flowers
Genus Sparganium From Greek and Latin sparganion, derived from sparganon, “diaper, ribbon, swadding band, for the ribbon-like leaves
Species americanum “From America”
About plant names...
Bur-reeds, a type of sedge , are a native American plant.
Identification: Bur-reeds are always found growing in shallow
water that is present all year. These sedges are up to 1-3½′ (30-106 cm) tall, with crooked stems and grasslike leaves. As with all sedges, stems are triangular in cross-section—this is easy to feel with your
fingers. Leaves are long, narrow, and strap-like, similar to those of cattails.
Bur-like spherical spiky green to white flowers, several to a stem, make these unmistakable. Each flower
is ball-shaped, ¾-1″ (1.9-2.5 cm) around, and green to white in color.
Edibility: Cooked roots and stem bases are edible.
Online References:
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The USDA Plants Database
Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants
EFloras
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm)
9/11/2021 · Otter Brook Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm)
9/1/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain
Sparganium americanum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
8/27/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm) ID is uncertain
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)
9/1/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm)
9/1/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain
Range:
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