''Sparganium natans'' is a species of

bur-reed ''Sparganium'' (bur-reed) is a genus of flowering plants, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. It is widespread in wet areas in temperate regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The plants are perennial marsh plants that ca ...

known by the common names least bur-reed and small bur-reed. It is a water circumboreal plant inhabiting North America, Europe, West Asia and Japan. It is usually found submersed in shallow, calm water. This bur-reed has thin, flexible, grasslike leaves which float in the water. Plants that spend more time out of water at the waterline are tougher and have shorter leaves. The plant bears two

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s, the

staminate The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

type being a rounded white filamentous ball and the

pistillate Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

type a sphere of thick, green, pointy peduncles. The fruits are small green or brown

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Sparganium natans'' (Small bur reed)

Jepson Manual treatment of ''Sparganium natans''

UC CalPhotos gallery
natans Freshwater plants Grasses of Canada Grasses of the United States Native grasses of California Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Poales-stub