 Photo ©
Carl Farmer |
Frequent in lochs, both upland and lowland. Skye's commonest Bur-reed Stems to 150 cm, only the flowering part above water. Leaves typically 4 mm wide halfway along their length and up to 200 cm long, arising from base or from stem and floating on surface. Fruiting heads c 10-20 cm across Skye ID: Flowering stem has typicallly 2-4 female heads below 1-2 male heads; if 2, the male heads are close together and appear as one. (in pic on left the top heads with long white stamens are male, the others female) Bract of lowest female head at least twice as long as the whole inflorescence (choose a plant with at least 3 female heads) Other features: The very long floating leaves often cover areas of the loch surface, a common sight in Skye lochs. The leaves are triangular in cross-section in the lower half, but flat near the tip. The stem-leaves and flowerhead-bracts have inflated sheathing bases. |
