Here's a pic of some of last year's cattails [
Typha sp] that reside in the swamp down the way from us. I like cattails because they're sculptural - they give structure to a wild wetland garden. They grow on the edges with the sedges, so it's easy to see where the water is shallow [and mucky.]
I didn't realize they had so many names. Here's a blurb from
wiki:
These plants have many common names. They may be known in British English as bulrush, or reedmace, in American English as cattail, catninetail, punks, or corn dog grass, in Australia as cumbungi or bulrush, and in New Zealand as raupo. Other taxa of plants may be known as
bulrush, including some
sedges in Scirpus and related genera.
I had heard that
they were edible, but didn't realize the extent of their usefulness.
Also from
wiki:
The rhizomes are edible. Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones suggests they were eaten in Europe 30,000 years ago... Many parts of the
Typha plant are edible to humans. The starchy rhizomes are nutritious with a protein content comparable to that of maize or rice.
They can be processed into a flour...They 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. Plants growing in polluted water can accumulate lead and pesticide residues in their rhizomes, and these should not be eaten. The outer portion of young plants can be peeled and the heart can be eaten raw or boiled and eaten like asparagus. This food has been popular among the Cossacks in Russia, and has been called "Cossack asparagus".
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.
In mid-summer when the male flowers are mature, the pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener.
Here's
another interesting page all about cattails.
