Plant of the Week: Common or Giant Bur-reed (Sparganium eurycarpum)

Common Bur-reed (Sparganium eurycarpum)

Common bur-reed is an emergent plant of shallow water with sword-shaped leaves and mace-shaped seed heads.  The corn kernel-sized seeds (achenes) are often eaten by waterfowl and shore birds. Muskrats eat the entire plant, and the tubers are edible by humans.

More about Bur reed

Common Bur-reed (Sparganium eurycarpum)
Inflorescence

Common Bur-reed (Sparganium eurycarpum)

Seeds (achenes)

A Terrible Time for Muskrats

This is the time of year when young muskrats (Ondatra zibethica) get pushed out of their parents’ houses and are forced to look for their own territory.  The poor near-sighted guys strike out on their own, leaving the marshes, ponds and lakes of their birth behind.  Unfortunately as they travel far and wide they don’t go unnoticed by red-tailed hawks and coyotes, but perhaps their greatest enemy is rubber.  One day on my way from Oshkosh to Green Bay I counted 18 flattened brown fur balls on just one side of the highway.  So if you happen to see a fat brown mammal with a naked tail running through your yard, have no fear, it’s just a muskrat looking for a new home, and a little love.

I thought I’d spare you a photo of muskrat hamburger todayJ