Photographs: The Gearagh, Co. Cork

Unbranched Bur-reed Sparganium emersum Rísheisc lom Family: Sparginaceae Flowering July-August. Perennial. Native. Racemes of white flowerheads on erect, unbranched stems with 3-10 clearly separated male heads above and 3-4 female below. The fruit are ellipsoid and taper to the beak. A rhizomatous plant that usually has both erect, strongly keeled stem leaves and narrow, flat floating leaves, their bases not inflated. Stems erect or more/less floating, to 60cm. Widespread in still or slow-moving water and lake-margins but most frequent in the northern half of Ireland. Similar: Branched Bur-reed, Sparganium erectum

Unbranched Bur-reed, Sparganium emersum, Rísheisc lom