Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Typha angustifolia
L., Typhaceae
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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: shui zhu

English: bulrush, cattail, lesser reed-mace, nail-rod, narrow-leaf cattail, narrowleaf cattail, small reed-mace, southern reedmace

Fijian: deniruve, denisoqe

Japanese: hime-gama

Spanish: anea, enea, espadaña, espadana, junco, paja de estera, totora, tutuvaco, vato

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Slender perennial 0.5-1.5 m tall; pith of stem white; stems about 2/3 as long as the leaves; leaves narrow, plano-concave or plano-convex or strongly convex on the back, 5-6 mm wide, dark green; sheaths appearing cylindrical below but actually open to base, usually conspicuously ariculate above, rarely some sheaths tapering to the blade, the auricles scarious-margined; pistillate and staminate spikes usually separated by a distance twice as great as the diameter of the pistillate spike or greater, rarely less than 0.5 cm or more than 12 cm apart; pistillate spike dark brown to reddish brown or in age becoming greenish brown or mottled, usually 6-10 times as long as broad, 8-20 cm long, 1.8-2.5 cm thick; pistillate flowers arranged on compound pedicels which when stripped of appendages appear smooth; bracts spatulate, truncate, their blades dark brown, opaque, and firm, slender-stalked; fertile flowers pediceled, the stipe densely long-hairy, the style long, slender, bearing a dark brown, linear stigma; sterile flowers long-stipitate with a broad, flat-topped, inflated, terminal, aborted ovary with a rudimentary style, much longer than the functional ovary; stamens on branched filaments, or sometimes sessile, often 2 or 3 to a cluster, the anthers opening by longitudinal slits, the connective clavate, often swollen and truncate above; pollen 1-celled, lemon yellow; bracts hairlike to linear, simple or forked, brown" (Mason, 1969; p. 41).

Habitat/ecology:  "Shallow lakes and streams, river edges, ditches, marshes, reservoirs and similar sites"  (Holm et al., 1997; p. 871).

In California, "coastal and valley marshes at low elevations" (Mason, 1969; p. 41).

Propagation:  Wind-borne seed; locally by rhizomes.

Native range:  Northern Africa, temperate Asia, Europe, Canada, US (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Philippines
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 69, 79)
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia
Australia (continental)
New South Wales   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
Australia
Australia (continental)
Queensland   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia (Kingdom of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 69, 79)
Central America
Central America (Pacific rim)
Costa Rica (Republic of)   Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 372)
Central America
Central America (Pacific rim)
Honduras (Republic of)   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 878)
China
China
China (People's Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China
China
Hong Kong introduced
cultivated
Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 350)
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 69, 79)
Japan
Japan
Japan   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
South Korea
South Korea
South Korea (Republic of)   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia (country of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 69, 79)
Mexico
Mexico
Mexico (United Mexican States)   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 69, 79)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 88)
Naturalised
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Chile (Republic of)   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Colombia   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Perú (Republic of)   Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 872)
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand (Kingdom of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 69, 79)
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam (Socialist Republic of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 69, 79)
Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Canada
Canada
Canada native
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Also naturalized.
United States (continental except west coast)
United States (other states)
United States (other states) native
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Also naturalized.

Control: 

Control information from the Bugwood Wiki.


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This page was created on 30 MAY 2005 and was last updated on 10 JAN 2011.