T. angustifolia is distributed throughout the temperate northern hemisphere, occurring in at least 56 countries. There is some dispute over its native distribution. The Kew Database regards the species as native...
T. angustifolia is distributed throughout the temperate northern hemisphere, occurring in at least 56 countries. There is some dispute over its native distribution. The Kew Database regards the species as native to both the Palearctic and Nearctic but the USDA Plants Database gives its status in the USA as introduced. Most reports of problems come from Eurasia and North America. It is not listed (in 2007) as a noxious weed on either the US Federal, nor any state listing, although it is included in some state manuals for control of invasive plants (e.g. Wisconsin). It is a competitive species occurring in aquatic to wetland habitats, primarily considered a nuisance in North America where it invades and displaces other, less competitive, wetland and emergent species, causing loss of biodiversity. Otherwise, its impact is generally low, and often as part of a mixed community of native species causing overgrowth of drainage channels.
The taxonomy of Typhaceae is somewhat complex. Some authorities combine Typha angustifolia with Typha domingensis, under the former name, but both the USDA Plants Database, and the Kew Index separate the two species (Chambers et al., 2008), and only T. angustifolia, sensu stricto, is dealt with here. Some workers have suggested that T. angustifolia was early introduced from Europe into Atlantic Coastal North America and migrated westward (Stuckey and Salamon, 1987). In South America Fernández et al. (1990), consider T. domingensis to be a separate species, and isoenzyme studies by Sharitz et al. (1980) on North American material provide further evidence for this. At least eight other species are commonly recognized, although only three of these (Typha javanica, Typha orientalis and Typha elephantina are serious causes of weed problems (Sainty and Jacobs, 1988; Gopal, 1990).
Species of Typha are known to hybridize (Stace, 1975) and ecotype formation is common, particularly in Typha latifolia (Grace and Wetzel, 1983).
T. angustifolia is a slender perennial aquatic emergent plant, growing to 3 m tall, but usually smaller. It has branched creeping rhizomes, 2-4 cm in diameter, commonly 70 cm or even longer, with dense fibrous root masses occurring at the base of stems and at rhizome nodes. Stems are unbranched and round with long (60-80 cm), linear leaves, 3-12 mm wide and deep green. Leaves are strongly planoconvex, numbering <10 per stem, sheathing at the base, and commonly overtopping the inflorescence. The inflorescence is a thin, dense crowded cylindrical spike of male flowers (brown to yellowish) above a similar spike of female flowers (reddish to dark brown), with a gap of approximately 10 mm between the two. Very large numbers of small pendulous seeds, with a straight, narrow embryo are produced.
T. angustifolia is distributed throughout the temperate northern hemisphere, occurring in at least 56 countries (Holm et al., 1997; Chambers et al., 2008). There is some dispute over its native distribution. The Kew Database regards the species as native to both the Palearctic and Nearctic but the USDA Plants Database gives its status in the USA as introduced. Most reports of problems come from Eurasia and North America. It is not listed (in 2007) as a noxious weed on either the US Federal, nor any State listing, although it is included in some state manuals for control of invasive plants (e.g. Wisconsin: Hoffman and Kearns, 1997).
Anderson (1990) reported T. angustifolia as a weed species throughout the southwestern USA, whereas species of Typha also caused problems in the northwestern states. In general, with the exception of Florida, Typha weeds appear to cause fewer problems in the eastern USA (Steward, 1990).
According to the Kew Database, records from the following countries are highly likely to be T. domingensis: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Australia, Micronesia (K Murphy, University of Glasgow, UK, personal communication, 2007).
The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.
T. angustifolia is a plant of temperate drainage and irrigation channels, associated reservoir and pond systems, navigation canals, and natural freshwater and wetland systems (lakes, rivers, ponds, topogenous and soligenous mires, fens and other marsh systems). Because of its clonal growth pattern and high competitive ability, it tends to form monodominant stands in suitable habitats for growth. The related species T. latifolia occupies very similar habitats, but tends to be replaced by T. angustifolia in waters >15 cm deep (Grace and Wetzel, 1982). The optimal water depth is 11-25 mm, and neither species survives in water deeper than 60-80 cm under normal conditions. Neither plant is very tolerant of salinity, and only slightly more than mildly brackish conditions are tolerated (e.g. Crain et al., 2004). Salinity levels of even 1% causes leaf damage to T. latifolia, although there is some North American evidence that T. angustifolia is slighter more salt-tolerant than T. latifolia (Fossett and Calhoun, 1952). These observations match the known distribution of the two species in the UK (Grime et al., 1988). The plants prefer a soil pH of >5.5, and are absent from more acidic soils.
T. angustifolia is a competitive species (Grime et al., 1988), occurring in aquatic to wetland habitats. Weisner (1993) provided evidence to show that under productive (eutrophic) conditions, T. angustifolia has a competitive edge over T. latifolia, displacing the latter in the long term. More recent work has confirmed this, especially at high latitudes in North America, with precise outcomes dependent upon the balance of solar radiation and nutrient availability to competing populations of the two species (Tanaka et al., 2004). A high competitive ability for T. angustifolia has also been demonstrated in tidal wetlands of the northeastern United States (Farnsworth and Meyerson, 2003). However Mal et al. (1997) showed that over time, in Michigan wetlands, T. angustifolia was susceptible to competition from the strongly invasive (in N. America) Lythrum salicaria. Both T. latifolia and T. angustifolia have many similar adaptations, such as the possession of well-developed aerenchyma to supply air to root and rhizome systems growing in anoxic substrates (Tornbjerg et al., 1994). They also have an element of disturbance-tolerance in their survival strategy (Wilcox, 1995), typified by the emphasis on prolific seed production from wind- or self-pollinated inflorescences. The seed is easily wind- or water-transported within tiny fruits, the pericarp of which opens to release the seed after a period of contact with water (Krattinger, 1975). There is some seed dormancy, with germination being influenced by light, low oxygen and fluctuating temperatures.
Despite the importance to the plant of seed production, there is a considerable resource allocation to rhizome production, which provides an effective mechanism of clonal advance of up to 4 m/year (Fiala, 1971). Rhizome fragments are usually viable, float easily and provide an alternative method of regeneration of new clones to seed dispersal. A comprehensive overview of the biology of both T. angustifolia and T. latifolia is provided by Grace and Harrison (1986) and Holm et al. (1997).
Indigenous curculionid beetles (Yang and Zhang, 1988) and noctuid moth larvae, such as Bellura obliqua (Penko and Pratt, 1986) are known to consume Typha tissues. Species of Typha are among the aquatic weeds controlled by the introduction of cyprinid fishes into waterways around the world (Julien and Griffiths, 1998). The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) has been reported as significantly reducing biomass of T. angustifolia in coastal marshes of New York (Connors et al., 2000).
T. angustifolia is primarily considered a nuisance in North America where it invades and displaces other, less competitive, wetland and emergent species, causing loss of biodiversity. Otherwise, its impact is generally low, and often as part of a mixed community of native species causing overgrowth of drainage channels.
Species of Typha have few uses for economic purposes, although the tubers are edible and have been used as food by indigenous peoples, notably in North America. Attempts have also been made to make paper with Typha pulp in the past, and Holm et al. (1991) state that a set of books published in 1765 with Typha paper still exists. They can be valuable components of constructed wetlands, for the purpose of wastewater cleanup, as they are efficient at accumulating heavy metals (Tjitrosoedirdjo and Sastroutomo, 1986), and also in removing nutrients and oils. Boyd (1970) calculated that Typha monocultures could (on a per hectare basis) remove up to 2600 kg of N and 400 kg of P per year from water, indicating a potentially high value for eutrophication control. Typha has been considered as a biomass crop for energy purposes (Yurukova and Kochev, 1993), but as in all aquatic plants its relatively high water content poses practical difficulties, particularly in harvesting.
Typha vegetation plays a very important role in wetland ecology at sites where it occurs, by providing food, shelter and nesting sites for waterfowl, fish and other wildlife (Dvorak, 1996), and has a role in wetland restoration projects (Dobberteen and Nickerson, 1991), although excessive growth can cause problems even in natural wetland systems, such as Spanish lagoons (Dies-Jambrino and Fernandez-Anero, 1997). T. angustifolia is of value for protecting banks from erosion in navigable river systems (Bonham, 1980).
Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.
Control
Physical control
Wade (1990) provides a brief overview of Typha control by physical means. Cutting and dredging are common approaches used worldwide; cutting shoots below the waterline 2-3 times per year leads to depletion of rhizome carbohydrate reserves and can reduce growth by >90% (Sale and Wetzel, 1983; Husak et al., 1986). However, cutting above the water surface is much less efficient: in Czech fishponds a cut at 180 cm above the substrate had hardly any impact on stands of T. angustifolia, whereas cutting off stems at 80 cm above the substrate resulted in a reduction of about 65% in rhizome biomass compared with untreated controls. Burning of Typha foliage is counter-productive, and may even simulate growth of above-ground biomass (Holm et al., 1991).
Chemical control
Species of Typha are susceptible to the standard herbicides affecting emergent narrow-leaved weeds at the normal dose ranges, particularly dalapon (Barrett and Robson, 1974) and glyphosate (Seddon, 1981; Barrett, 1985; Schimming et al., 1987; Messersmith et al., 1992). However, they also respond to other herbicides, for example, fluridone (Parka et al., 1978) applied as a foliar spray. Arsenovic (1986) reported promising results using both imazapyr and glufosinate. In drainage channels in Serbia, glyphosate at 2.4 and 2.8 a.i. kg ha-1, glufosinate ammonium at 2.0 a.i. kg ha-1 and sulfosate [glyphosate] at 2.4 a.i. kg ha-1 were reported as effective against mixed emergent stands including T. angustifolia (Konstantininovic and Meseldija, 2005).
In nature reserves, for example in Spain, glyphosate has been used to manage invasive growths of T. angustifolia and other emergent species (Dies-Jambrino and Fernandez-Anero, 1997).
Biological control
Relatively little work has been done on the biological control of species of Typha, probably because of the cosmopolitan occurrence of both T. angustifolia and T. latifolia, which makes classic biocontrol inappropriate (although not ruling out inundative methods). Species of Typha are listed as being target weeds of Aristichthys nobilis and Ctenopharyngodon idella, cyprinid fishes that have been released into waterways around the world (Julien and Griffiths, 1998). Certain curculionid beetles have been suggested as having potential (Yang and Zhang, 1988). Noctuid moth larvae, such as Bellura obliqua, are also known to infest Typha in parts of North America (Penko and Pratt, 1986), but have not been exploited as a means of practical control.
Anderson L, 1990. Aquatic weed problems and management in North America. (a) Aquatic weed problems and management in the western United States and Canada. In: Pieterse AH, Murphy KJ, eds. Aquatic Weeds. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 371-391.
Grace JB; Wetzel RG, 1983. Variations in growth and reproduction within populations of two rhizomatous plant species: Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia. Oecologia, 53:258-263.
Soerjani M, 1980. Aquatic plant management in Indonesia. In: Furtado JI, ed. Tropical Ecology and Development. Proceedings 5th International Symposium on Tropical Ecology 1979. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: BIOTROP, 725-737.
Soerjani M; Parker C; Tjitrosemito S; Allen GE; Varshney CK; Mitchell DS; Pancho JV, 1976. Proceedings South-east Asian Workshop on Aquatic Weeds, BIOTROP Special Publication No. 1. Bogor, Indonesia: BIOTROP.
Yang ZS; Zhang XQ, 1987. Sphenophorus sp. (Col.: Curculionidae), a potential biological control agent of the weed Typha angustifolia L. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, 3(1):44.
