What's in a name?
That which we call a...cattail.
Kingdom - Plantae - the plants
Subkingdom - Tracheobionta - vascular plants
Super-division - Spermatophyta - seed plants
Division - Magnoliophyta - flowering plants
Class - Liliopsida - monocotyledons, identified by parallel venation in the leaves
Sub-class - Commelinidae - noted by an absence of lignin in the cell walls
Order - Typhales - the cattail family
Family - Typhaceae - the cattails in North America
Genus - Typha - comes from the Greek word "tufh" that means bulrush or cattail
Species - latifolia - comes from the Latin word "latus", meaning "broad", and "folius" meaning "leaf"
Above is a phylogenetic tree, based on molecular data, showing the kingdom through the sub-class of Typha latifolia. Below is also a phylogenetic tree that is based on molecular data. It is showing the sub-class through the genus.
Curious about where Typha latifolia lives? Click here.
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