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Broadleaf Reedmace
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Broadleaf Reedmace
P Native Photo: Thingnam Girija
Common name: Broadleaf Reedmace, Broadleaf cattail, Bulrush, Common bulrush, Common cattail, Cat-o'-nine-tails, Great reedmace, Cooper's reed • Kashmiri: زب Zab, پیت Peit
Botanical name: Typha latifolia    Family: Typhaceae (Reedmace family)
Synonyms: Typha major, Typha elatior, Typha ambigua

Broadleaf Reedmace is a wetland plant up to 1-2 m tall. Stem is thick, round. Leaves are linear-broadly linear, 8-20 mm broad. Flowering stem is equal to or somewhat shorter than the leaves. Male and female parts of inflorescence contiguous. Female parts are slightly longer than the male parts at maturity, cylindric, soft, dark brown or blackish brown. Male flowers with simple hairs and pollen in tetrads; filaments 2-3 times as long as anther. Female flowers are ebracteate, ovary 1/3-1/4 the length of stipe, stigma lanceshaped or rhombic, fleshy, dark brown or persistent brown, much surpassing the perianth hairs. The rhizomes are edible after cooking and removing the skin, while peeled stems and leaf bases can be eaten raw, or cooked. The young flower spikes, young shoots, and sprouts at the end of the rootstocks are edible as well. Broadleaf Reedmace is widespread in the Temperate Northern Hemisphere. In India it is found in Kashmir.

Identification credit: Tabish Photographed in Kashmir.

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