Typha domingensis
Family: Typhaceae
Plant Description: Perennial, 1-2.5 m cm high, forms colonies. Leaves linear. Flowers minute, unisexual, the male in a tail-like spike 2-4 m above the cylindroid light-brown female. Grow from rhizomes. Leaves are 2-ranked (two vertical rows). Sheathing leaves are flat, linear, sessile.
Plant Trivia: Can tolerate brackish waters to salinities to 3.5 ppt. Cattail was likely among the root foods sought by Cabeza de Vaca and his men while living among coastal peoples. In his accounts, the Spaniard describes grubbing for plant roots in muddy banks. It is still an important part of Kickapoo tribal culture of South Texas and Northern Mexico.
Field Identification: Tall grass-like plant with a terminal cigar-like structure.
Occurrence: Common in fresh or brackish soils, mostly in ditches, swales, and marshes and along stream and lake banks. Requires wet environment.
Bloom Period: May-October
Plant Use: Plant rhizomes are used as a source of food for small mammals and geese. Insect-eating birds forage and nest among stands of cattails. Thick stands are good for filtering toxins and excessive nutrients from wetlands and as erosion control. Leaves are sometimes woven to make mats. Human uses include chair seats, sleeping mats, stuffing for lifejackets, pillows, baby diapers, and making masa flour.
Key to the Genus Typha:
1. Male and female spikes separate……………………………...T domingensis
Male and female spikes adjoining……………………………………T. latifolia
