Everything about Typha totally explained
Typha is a
genus of about eleven
species of
monocotyledonous flowering plants in the
monogeneric family, Typhaceae. The genus has a largely
Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially
cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of
wetland habitats. These plants are known in
British English as
bulrush,
bullrush or
reedmace, and in
American English as
cattail or
punks. Cattails shouldn't be confused with the bulrush of the genus
Scirpus.
Cattails are
wetland plants, typically 1 to 7 m tall (
T. minima is smaller: 0.5-1 m), with spongy, strap-like leaves and starchy, creeping stems (
rhizomes). The leaves are alternate and mostly basal to a simple, jointless stem that eventually bears the flowers. The
rhizomes spread horizontally beneath the surface of muddy ground to start new upright growth, and the spread of cattails is an important part of the process of open water bodies being converted to vegetated
marshland and eventually dry land.
Typha plants are
monoecious, wind-pollinated, and bear
unisexual flowers developing in dense, complex
spikes. The male flower spike develops at the top of the vertical stem, above the female flower spike (see figure below). The male (staminate) flowers are reduced to a pair of
stamens and hairs and wither once the
pollen is shed, leaving a short, bare stem portion above the female
inflorescence. The dense cluster of female flowers forms a cylindrical spike some 10 to as much as 40 cm long and 1 to 4 cm broad. Seeds are minute (about 0.2 mm long), and attached to a thin hair or stalk, which effects wind dispersal.
Typha are often among the first wetland plants to colonize areas of newly exposed wet mud.
Some classifications include the genus
Sparganium (
Sparganiaceae) in Typhaceae.
Species
The most widespread species is
Typha latifolia, extending across the entire temperate Northern Hemisphere.
T. angustifolia is nearly as widespread, but doesn't extend so far north.
T. domingensis is a more southerly
American species, extending from the
U.S. to
South America, while
T. laxmannii,
T. minima and
T. shuttleworthii are largely restricted to
Asia and parts of southern
Europe.
Typha plants grow along lake margins and in marshes, often in dense colonies, and are sometimes considered a weed in managed wetlands. The plant's root systems help prevent
erosion, and the plants themselves are often home to many insects, birds and
amphibians.
In North America, the native cattails are increasingly being supplanted by the
invasive purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria.
Edible uses
Cattail has a wide variety of parts that are edible to humans. The
rhizomes are a pleasant, nutritious and energy-rich food source, generally harvested from late Fall to early Spring. These are starchy, but also fibrous, so the starch must be scraped or sucked from the tough fibers. In addition to the rhizomes, cattails have little-known, underground, lateral stems that are quite tasty. In late spring, the bases of the leaves, while they're young and tender, can be eaten raw or cooked. As the flower spike is developing in early summer, it can be broken off and eaten, and in mid-summer, once the flowers are mature, the
pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener.
Stuffing
The disintegrating heads are used by some birds to line their nests. The downy material was also used by
Native Americans as
tinder for starting fires.
Native American tribes also used cattail down to line
moccasins and
papoose boards. An Indian name for cattail meant, “fruit for papoose’s bed”. Today some people still use cattail down to stuff clothing items and pillows.
The down has also been used to fill
life vests in the same manner as
kapok.
If using the cattail for pillow stuffing you may be wise to use thick batting material, as the fluff may cause a reaction similar to hives and will be very itchy.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Typha'.
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