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Typha is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. Collins Flower Guide. Harper Collins or (mainly historically) reedmace,Clegg, J. (1986). Observer's Book of Pond Life. Frederick Warne, London. 460 p. in American English cattail or punks, in Australia cumbungi or bulrush, in Canada bulrush or cattail, and in New Zealand raupō, bullrush, cattail, or reed.
The genus is largely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is found in a variety of wetland habitats. Although they can accumulate toxins in polluted areas, many parts of the plant are edible, including the starchy .
The plants are monoecious, with unisexual flowers that develop in dense . The numerous male flowers form a narrow spike at the top of the vertical stem. Each male (staminate) flower is reduced to a pair of and hairs, and withers once the pollen is shed. Large numbers of tiny female flowers form a dense, sausage-shaped spike on the stem below the male spike. This can be up to long and thick. The seeds are minute, long, and attached to fine hairs. When ripe, the heads disintegrate into a cottony fluff from which the seeds wind dispersal.
The plants grow in open swampy areas from sea level to .
Typha are considered to be dominant competitors in wetlands in many areas and they often exclude other plants with their dense canopy. 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.Grace, J. B. and Wetzel, R. G. (1981). Habitat partitioning and competitive displacement in cattails ( Typha): experimental field studies. The American Naturalist 118: 463–74.
Well-developed aerenchyma make the plants tolerant of submersion. Even the dead stalks are capable of transmitting oxygen to the rooting zone.
Although Typha are native wetland plants, they can be aggressive in their competition with other native species.Oudhia, P. (1999). Allelopathic TEMPeffects of Typha angustata on germination and seedling vigour of winter maize and rice. Agric. Sci. Digest 19(4): 285-286. They have been problematic in many regions in North America, from the Great Lakes to the Everglades. 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.Boers, A. M., et al. (2007). Typha × glauca dominance and extended hydroperiod constrain restoration of wetland diversity. Ecological Engineering 29, 232–44. Control is difficult. The most successful strategy appears to be mowing or burning to remove the aerenchymous stalks, followed by prolonged flooding.Kaminski, R. M., et al. (1985). Control of cattail and bulrush by cutting and flooding. In: Coastal Wetlands, eds. H. H. Prince and F. M. D’Itri, pp. 253–62. Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers. It may be more important to prevent invasion by preserving water level fluctuations, including periods of drought, and to maintain infertile conditions.
Typha are frequently eaten by wetland mammals such as , which also use them to construct feeding platforms and dens, thereby also providing nesting and resting places for waterfowl. Global Invasive Species Database: "Uses"- Retrieved 2017-03-20
Baby shoots emerging from the rhizomes, which are sometimes subterranean, can be picked and eaten raw. Before the plants flower, the tender inside of the shoots can be squeezed out and eaten raw or cooked. 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. This food has been popular among the Cossacks in Ukraine and has been called "Cossack asparagus". The inner stalk of the leaf bases can be eaten raw or cooked, especially in late spring when they are young and tender. In early summer, both the male and female green flower spikes can be boiled (after removing the sheath of the female spike) and eaten like corn on the cob. (2026). 9781402767159, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.. ISBN 9781402767159 In mid-summer when the male flowers are mature, the pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener; the Māori of New Zealand have a special bread called pungapunga made from the pollen of T. orientalis. Raupo or Bulrush ( Typha orientalis). Tai Awatea. Accessed 15 December 2011.
Harvesting cattail removes nutrients from the wetland that would otherwise return via the decomposition of decaying plant matter. Floating mats of cattails remove nutrients from eutrophication.
During World War II, the United States Navy used the down of Typha as a substitute for Ceiba pentandra in life vests and aviation jackets. Tests showed that even after 100 hours of submersion, the buoyancy was still effective.
Typha are used as thermal insulation in buildings as an organic alternative to conventional insulating materials such as glass wool or stone wool.
The flower stalks can be made into chopsticks. The leaves can be treated to weave into baskets, mats, or sandals. 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.
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.
Cattail pollen is used as a banker source of food for predatory insects and mites (such as Amblyseius swirskii) in greenhouses.
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, which had noticed a striking similarity between the plant and kielbasa, a common Polish dish.
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