Typhaceae

The Typhaceae () are a family of flowering plants, sometimes called the cattail family. The botanical name for the family has been recognized by most taxonomists. Members can be recognized as large marsh herbs with two-ranked leaves and a brownish compact spike of unisexual flowers. The earliest fossils, including pollen and flowers, have been recovered from late Cretaceous deposits. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Poales in the clade commelinids, in the monocots. The family then consisted of one genus (Typha), totalling a dozen species of perennial plants of wet habitats. More recently, the APG III system of 2009 included a second genus, Sparganium, in this family. The two genera together have a total of 51 known species. The Cronquist system, of 1981, also recognized such a family and placed it in the order Typhales, in the subclass Commelinidae in class Liliopsida in division Magnoliophyta. The Wettstein system, last updated in 1935, placed the family in order Pandanales. Media related to Typhaceae at Wikimedia Commons