Photo by Roxana Leal, April 8th 2022. Cañón de Río Dulce. (Typha domingensis)
Searching in the internet we were able to see videos of how Typha, when ripe, takes out something similar to cotton and flies through the air. We wanted to see it with our own eyes at some point.
When leaving one of the rivers where we documented Grias cauliflora, we could observe Typha and there was just one of these plants already mature. Dr. Nicholas decided to investigate and when he opened it his "cotton" began to come out and fly through the air. It was very nice to see this!
Typha domingensis is classified as an emergent rooted aquatic microphyte, since it is rooted at the bottom of water bodies and its stem blades and inflorescence emerge from the water. This plant reproduces by its rhizome and the propagation of its flying seeds. It inhabits fresh and brackish inland waters.
Typha spp. it has a high economic potential since fiber is extracted from this plant for the manufacture of fabrics. It also has a high ecological importance, due to the fact that, in some bodies of water, this plant is introduced to control the excess of nutrients that can accelerate eutrophication processes. But, the introduction of this plant in bodies of water needs to be careful since its reproduction and propagation can accelerate too fast because its rhizomes and its vast seed bank in the soil (Hall, 2008).
Photo by Alejandra Gutiérrez, March 2021, Cánon D1. Río Cáliz. Inflorescence of Typha domingensis.
Photo by Victor Mendoza. May 2nd 2021. Sory RX100 Underwater. Lago Petén Itza, El Remate. Example of a rooted Typha domingensis.
Bibliography
- 2008
- Typha domingensis (totora del sur)
Available Online:
www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/54296#tosummaryOfInvasiveness
- 2009
- Malezas de México.
Available Online:
www.conabio.gob.mx/malezasdemexico/typhaceae/typha-domingensis/fichas/ficha.htm
Written by Lic. Roxana Leal & Ing. Victor Mendoza
Bibliography by Ing. Victor Mendoza
Photographs by Lic. Roxana Leal, Alejandra Gutiérrez & Ing. Victor Mendoza
Posted May 16, 2022
