Cattails are common in the west, as likely to be seen in a roadside ditch as in a pond. About eleven species of cattails make up the genus Typha according to the entry in Wikipedia.
This cattail is in full bloom. The ladybug in the photo is standing at the top of the flowerhead. Notice the difference in the upper and lower part of the flowerhead. The thousands of tiny flowers on the upper part of the stem are the male flowers. The thousands of tiny flowers on the lower part of the stem are the female flowers.
When the male flowers have pollinated the female flowers, they fall away from the stem leaving a bare spike. The female flowers mature into the tightly packed seeds of the brown sausage shaped 'cattail'.
This is a pretty simple photo, but one I've been fond of since I took it a few years ago. I don't think I would have taken it if it hadn't been for that ladybug at the top of the flowerhead.
