Fwd: Re: [NatureNS] Request for help with cattail study

Date: Sat, 06 May 2017 17:25:04 -0400
From: "Frederick W. Schueler" <bckcdb@istar.ca>
Organization: Bishops Mills Natural History Centre
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Hi all,

I think that GoBotany is the best plant ID resource for our area.

Broad-leaved cattail (/Typha latifolia/):
https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/typha/latifolia/ ; has much
wider leaves than narrow-leaved cattail (/Typha angustifolia/):
https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/typha/angustifolia/

I have also read that the narrow-leaved cattail and the hybrid have a
space between the staminate and pistillate part of the inflorescence
(2-4cm), while broad-leaved doesn't.

However, it can be difficult to distinguish these two from the hybrids
(at least in Ontario) because the hybrid tends to take on a variation of
traits from the adults.

this is also an interesting site for the comparison of the three
species:
http://www.bwsr.state.mn.us/wetlands/plantid/Forbs/scientific%20name/Typha%20compare%20cattail_comparison_08.pdf

it is very hard to distinguish these species in Ontario - we've found
that some individuals turn out to not follow these guidelines after
genotyping them in the lab.

I am going to collect leaf samples of my study specimens in NS and
genotype them in lab instead of just relying on these traits to ID them.

I hope this helps a bit.

I had another inquiry: I've read that the flowering times for cattails
in NS are between June 12-21 and between July 8-14. I'm guessing this is
because northern populations might flower later, but wondering if anyone
can confirm this. Also I'm wondering if anyone has any idea when
cattails flower in the Amherst area.

Best,

Kat

On Thu, May 4, 2017 at 7:24 PM, Fred Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca
<mailto:bckcdb@istar.ca>> wrote:

     On 5/4/2017 5:20 PM, Kathryn Tisshaw wrote:

         Thanks for your reply! Do you have the coordinates of the
         locations you found in 2010?


     * yes, I've sent you the 29 records from NB and NS. I hope NatureNS
     members can send you a lot more locations. For those not familiar
     with the differences among Cattail species maybe Kathryn can suggest
     a good identification page - simple googling just turns up only ugly
     pages which don't distinguish the kinds very clearly.

     fred.
     =======================================================

         It is really strange - one of the researchers here was in Nova
         Scotia a
         few years ago and said she only found one patch of /T. 
angustifolia/
         east of Quebec. I hope to find up to 10 sites so that I can
         investigate
         the habitat, flowering times, and pollen viability. We are
         thinking we
         might find some interesting results.

         Thanks for your help,

         Kat

         On Thu, May 4, 2017 at 3:31 PM, Fred Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca
         <mailto:bckcdb@istar.ca>
         <mailto:bckcdb@istar.ca <mailto:bckcdb@istar.ca>>> wrote:

              On 5/4/2017 2:25 PM, Patrick Kelly quoted:

                  I am contacting Nature Nova Scotia because I am about
         to embark on a
                  journey to Nova Scotia to study cattails. My thesis
         involves
                  examining
                  differences between fertility and habitat preferences
         between
                  broadleaf
                  cattail (Typha latifolia), narrow-leaved cattail (T.
                  angustifolia), and
                  their hybrid (T. x glauca) in Nova Scotia and the Great
         Lakes
                  area. I
                  was wondering if there have been any recent
         observations of the
                  non-native cattail, T. angustifolia. It seems like T.
                  angustifolia is a
                  lot rarer in Nova Scotia than in Ontario, and we want
         to investigate
                  this strange phenomenon. This will help us in
         understanding the
                  reproduction and habitat preferences of invasive
         species. Please
                  let me
                  know if you know anyone who might know where the 
non-native
                  cattail is
                  found.


              * I've also been interested in this problem, and I
         accumulated only
              about a dozen locations for T. angustifolia in Nova Scotia
         from our
              travels there in 2010. The same condition holds in New
         Brunswick,
              where the uncommonness of T. angustifolia and hybrids is
         considered
              unexceptional by local botanists - e.g. Gart Bishop
         <gartali@NBNET.NB.CA <mailto:gartali@NBNET.NB.CA>
         <mailto:gartali@NBNET.NB.CA <mailto:gartali@NBNET.NB.CA>>> -
         even while it
              strikes those of us from Ontario as astonishing.

              Going down the St Lawrence along the TransCanada, T.
         angustifolia
              continues to be abundant to Riviere du Loup, but once
         you're over
              the mountains to Edmundston it's uncommon all the way to
         Annapolis
              Royal.

              fred schueler
              Research Curator

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