Typha latifolia
- noun
- /ˈtaɪfə ˌlætɪˈfoʊliə/
- Specialized
:
typha
- Her grandmother wove baskets from the long flat leaves of Typha latifolia gathered by the river.
Examples
-
In late summer, the Typha latifolia released its down, fluffing the edges of the pond.
-
The wetlands were filled with Typha latifolia, their brown seed heads swaying in the breeze.
-
Her grandmother wove baskets from the leaves of Typha latifolia gathered by the river.
-
The Typha latifolia grows abundantly near the pond.
-
In many wetlands, Typha latifolia can be found.
-
In late summer, the seed heads of Typha latifolia released their fluffy down, covering the surface of the pond.
-
The wetlands were filled with Typha latifolia, whose tall stalks stood proudly above the water.
Synonyms
11
8.5
A tall marsh plant with a brown sausage-shaped seed head and long flat leaves used for making mats and seats
5
4.2
A tall marsh plant with long flat leaves and a brown sausage-shaped flower spike
A tall water plant with long leaves and a brown, stick-like flower head
A tall marsh plant with long brown seed heads and flat leaves used for weaving
A tall marsh plant with long flat leaves and long brown seed heads used for weaving mats and chair seats
A tall plant that grows in wet places with round seed heads that burst and long leaves used for weaving
A tall plant that grows in wet places with long leaves and brown seed heads used to make mats
Surface Forms
Morphology
Typha + latifolia
This is a Linnaean binomial: the genus name 'Typha' denotes a wetland plant and the species epithet 'latifolia' is a descriptive Latin compound meaning 'broad‑leaved'. If a learner knows both parts (including the Latin morphemes), they can infer it denotes a broad‑leaved Typha, but most B1 learners will not recognize Latin epithets or their morphology, so the meaning is only partially recoverable. The pattern is cross‑linguistically consistent (scientific names), which supports partial transparency rather than full compositional clarity.
Etymology
Typha latifolia comes from Latin words that describe the plant: Typha points to the brown, stick-like seed head known as a 'cattail', and latifolia means 'broad leaves'. So the name paints a simple picture — a tall marsh plant with wide leaves and a fluffy brown head, which is why it fits this common 'cattail'.