Cattails Free

[Jessica Wilson]

Therhizomes are edible, though at least some species are known to accumulate toxins and so must first undergo treatment before being eaten.[6] Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones suggests they were already eaten in Europe 30,000 years ago.[7]

Typha are often among the first wetland plants to colonize areas of newly exposed wet mud, with their abundant wind-dispersed seeds. Buried seeds can survive in the soil for long periods of time.[10] They germinate best with sunlight and fluctuating temperatures, which is typical of many wetland plants that regenerate on mud flats.[11] The plants also spread by rhizomes, forming large, interconnected stands.

Typha are considered to be dominant competitors in wetlands in many areas, and they often exclude other plants with their dense canopy.[12] In the bays of the Great Lakes, for example, they are among the most abundant wetland plants. Different species of cattails are adapted to different water depths.[13]

Although Typha are native wetland plants, they can be aggressive in their competition with other native species.[14] They have been problematic in many regions in North America, from the Great Lakes to the Everglades.[12] Native sedges are displaced and wet meadows shrink, likely as a response to altered hydrology of the wetlands and increased nutrient levels. An introduced or hybrid species may be contributing to the problem.[15] Control is difficult. The most successful strategy appears to be mowing or burning to remove the aerenchymous stalks, followed by prolonged flooding.[16] It may be more important to prevent invasion by preserving water level fluctuations, including periods of drought, and to maintain infertile conditions.[12]

Typha are frequently eaten by wetland mammals such as muskrats, which also use them to construct feeding platforms and dens, thereby also providing nesting and resting places for waterfowl.[17]

The most widespread species is Typha latifolia, which is distributed across the entire temperate northern hemisphere. It has also been introduced to Australia. T. angustifolia is nearly as widespread, but does not extend as far north; it may be introduced and invasive in North America. T. domingensis has a more southern American distribution, and it occurs in Australia. T. orientalis is widespread in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. T. laxmannii, T. minima, and T. shuttleworthii are largely restricted to Asia and southern Europe.

Many parts of the Typha plant are edible to humans. Before the plant flowers, the tender inside of the shoots can be squeezed out and eaten raw or cooked.[23] The starchy rhizomes are nutritious with a protein content comparable to that of maize or rice.[24] They can be processed into a flour with 266 kcal per 100 grams,[7] and are most often harvested from late autumn to early spring. They are fibrous, and the starch must be scraped or sucked from the tough fibers.[25] Baby shoots emerging from the rhizomes, which are sometimes subterranean, can be picked and eaten raw. Also underground is a carbohydrate lump which can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked like a potato.[26] The plant is one championed by survival experts because various parts can be eaten throughout the year. Plants growing in polluted water can accumulate lead and pesticide residues in their rhizomes, and these should not be eaten.[25]

The rind of young stems can be peeled off, and the tender white heart inside can be eaten raw or boiled and eaten like asparagus.[27] This food has been popular among the Cossacks in Russia, and has been called "Cossack asparagus".[28] The leaf bases can be eaten raw or cooked, especially in late spring when they are young and tender. In early summer the sheath can be removed from the developing green flower spike, which can then be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob.[29] In mid-summer when the male flowers are mature, the pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener.[30]

Harvesting cattail removes nutrients from the wetland that would otherwise return via the decomposition of decaying plant matter.[32] Floating mats of cattails remove nutrients from eutrophied bodies of freshwater.[33]

For local native tribes around Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, Typha were among the most important plants and every part of the plant had multiple uses. For example, they were used to construct rafts and other boats.[24]

During World War II, the United States Navy used the down of Typha as a substitute for kapok in life vests and aviation jackets. Tests showed that even after 100 hours of submersion, the buoyancy was still effective.[34]

Typha stems and leaves can be used to make paper. It is strong with a heavy texture and it is hard to bleach, so it is not suitable for industrial production of graphical paper. In 1853, considerable amounts of cattail paper were produced in New York, due to a shortage of raw materials.[36] In 1948, French scientists tested methods for annual harvesting of the leaves. Because of the high cost, these methods were abandoned and no further research was done.[24] Today Typha is used to make decorative paper.[37][38]

Fibers up to 4 meters long can be obtained from the stems when they are treated mechanically or chemically with sodium hydroxide. The stem fibers resemble jute and can be used to produce raw textiles. The leaf fibers can be used as an alternative to cotton and linen in clothing. The yield of leaf fiber is 30 to 40 percent and Typha glauca can produce 7 to 10 tons per hectare annually.[24]

The seed hairs were used by some indigenous peoples of the Americas[which?] as tinder for starting fires. Some tribes also used Typha down to line moccasins, and for bedding, diapers, baby powder, and cradleboards. One Native American word for Typha meant "fruit for papoose's bed".[citation needed] Typha down is still used in some areas to stuff clothing items and pillows. Typha can be dipped in wax or fat and then lit as a candle, the stem serving as a wick. Without the use of wax or fat it will smolder slowly, somewhat like incense, and may repel insects. [citation needed]

The flower stalks can be made into chopsticks. The leaves can be treated to weave into baskets, mats, or sandals.[26] The rushes are harvested and the leaves often dried for later use in chair seats. Re-wetted, the leaves are twisted and wrapped around the chair rungs to form a densely woven seat that is then stuffed (usually with the left over rush).

Small-scale experiments have indicated that Typha are able to remove arsenic from drinking water.[40][41]The boiled rootstocks have been used as a diuretic for increasing urination, or mashed to make a jelly-like paste for sores, boils, wounds, burns, scabs, and smallpox pustules.[42]

The cattail, or, as it is commonly referred to in the American Midwest, the sausage tail, has been the subject of multiple artist renditions, gaining popularity in the mid-twentieth century. The term, sausage tail, derives from the similarity that cattails have with sausages, a name given to the plant by the Midwest Polish community who had noticed a striking similarity between the plant and a common Polish dish, kiełbasa.

While I was growing up, I would sometimes go out collecting cattail heads with my grandmother during the summer. Now that I am an adult, I realize that probably the wetland that we visited was merely a swampy ditch at the end of the road, but as a child it seemed a wild adventure. We would cut off a few of the flowering heads and take them home, letting some remain as they were for decoration and cutting into others to investigate what was inside. Now that I am older, the cattails are gone and something else is in its place.

Phragmites (Phragmites australis) is an invasive wetland reed that aggressively outcompetes native plants, displacing wildlife at the same time. Commonly found around ponds, in wetlands, and disturbed areas with moist soils, phragmites is easily identified by its wispy seedheads and height of up to 15 feet. Seed propagation occurs by wind, passage on animals, or by humans moving contaminated soil or brush. Once established, phragmites spreads quickly not only by seed but also through the growth of rhizomes and stolons. In vegetative propagation via rhizomes, stems grow horizontally underground, then sprout a distance from the parent plant as a clone. Propagation via stolons, works in much the same way, but the horizontal stem grows above ground.

Cattails are also very invasive plants they will consume a entire pond as well the only difference is the flowering one is a grass and the other is the cattail , the cattail is next to impossible to remove once planted as is the common reed they both can be used to weave with and or for deco

Managing wetland habitat inevitably involves controlling cattails. Recovering a wetland from a well-established cattail colony is a 5-to-10-year project that requires persistence and multiple herbicide application methods. In colonies with a high density of cats, a two person or ATV mounted boom is a good way to cover a large area relatively quickly. With low concern for non-target damage (there is usually little else in dense cattail stands) an herbicide-soaked boom can be dragged over the cattails; literally painting the plants with herbicide. This method can reduce stem density of a cattail colony by 50% or more in two treatment seasons.

I often use my free hand to pull on a few leaves and open the base of the plant. Done this way, herbicide will funnel down into the stem. There is minimal overspray if done carefully and with low pressure. After treatment, fold over the top 6-10 inches of the leaves to mark the plant as treated.

Is there a recommended wicking type applicator that can be utilized with a tractor or ATV? How late in the season can you spray cats? is there an optimum time for spraying them as I would think you want to get to them before they go to seed? ?

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