Cool Creek Seedlings
Cattail
Description
Latin: Typha latifolia
Zones: 3-10
Other common names: Common Cattail, broadleaf cattail, rushes, cossack asparagus, bulrushes, cat o' nine tails and flags
Mature Height: 4 - 6'
Soil / Climate: sun to part shade, grows well in rich loams. Cattails prefer shallow, flooded conditions.
Notes: Foilage turns yellow brown in fall. Yellow male flowers. Green female flowers. After bloom, males disappear leaving a naked stalk. Pollinated female will turn brown. Cattails are delicious both raw and cooked. Greenish yellow flower spikes can be eaten before they become tawny with pollen. Husk off thin sheaths and place in boiling water until tender. Eat like corn. The tender white insides of about the first 1 - 1 1/2 feet of the peeled young stems can be eaten either raw or cooked. During World War II the downy seeds were used to stuff life jackets.
Wildlife: nesting areas/covers for wildlife