{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{About|cattails|"catstails"|Phleum|other plants known as "bulrush"|Bulrush}}
{{Automatic taxobox |image = Typha-cattails-in-indiana.jpg |image_caption = ''Typha'' in Indiana, United States |taxon = Typha |authority = L. |synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=270918|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|work=kew.org}}</ref> |synonyms = * ''Massula'' <small>Dulac</small> * ''Rohrbachia'' <small>(Kronf. ex Riedl) Mavrodiev</small> }}
'''''Typha''''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|aɪ|f|ə}} is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English '''bulrush'''<ref name = "Streeter">Streeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ''Collins Flower Guide''. Harper Collins {{ISBN|9-78-000718389-0}}</ref> or (mainly historically) '''reedmace''',<ref>Clegg, J. (1986). ''Observer's Book of Pond Life''. Frederick Warne, London. 460 p.</ref> in American English '''cattail'''<ref>{{PLANTS|id=TYPHA|taxon=Typha|access-date=12 December 2015}}</ref> or '''punks''', in Australia '''cumbungi''' or bulrush, in Canada bulrush or cattail, and in New Zealand '''raupō''', '''bullrush''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Typha orientalis |url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/typha-orientalis/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network}}</ref> 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 rhizomes.
==Description== ''Typha'' are aquatic or semiaquatic, rhizomatous, herbaceous, perennial plants<ref name="Stace">{{cite book |last=Stace |first=C. A. |author-link=Stace, C. A. |title=New Flora of the British Isles |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780521707725 |edition=Third |location=Cambridge, U.K. |pages=925}}</ref> growing to {{Convert|0.8-2.4|m|ft|frac=2|abbr=on}} in height.<ref name="Harrington-1972">{{Cite book |last=Harrington |first=Harold David |author-link=Harold Harrington |url=https://archive.org/details/westernediblewil0000harr/page/9/mode/2up |title=Western Edible Wild Plants |date=1972 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-0218-2 |location=Albuquerque |pages=9-14}}</ref> The leaves are long and narrow, up to {{Convert|2.5|cm|frac=4|abbr=on}} wide,<ref name="Harrington-1972" /> glabrous (hairless), linear, alternate, and mostly basal on a simple, jointless stem that bears the flowering spikes.
The plants are monoecious, with unisexual flowers that develop in dense racemes. 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 stamens and hairs, and it 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 {{Convert|30|cm|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long<ref name="Harrington-1972" /> and {{Convert|1 to 4|cm|sigfig=1|abbr=on|frac=4}} thick. The seeds are minute, {{Convert|0.2|mm|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, and attached to fine hairs. When ripe, the heads disintegrate into a cottony fluff from which the seeds disperse by wind.
{{gallery|mode=packed |File:2022-07-26 10 59 59 A Broadleaf Cattail along a small tributary of the Delaware River adjacent to New Jersey State Route 29 (River Road) in the Mountainview section of Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg|Close-up of the female flower spike |File:Going bald (32413540641).jpg|The seeds being dispersed by wind }}
==Taxonomy== Fruit of ''Typha'' have been found as long ago as 69 million years ago in modern Central Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bremer |first=Kåre |date=2000-04-04 |title=Early Cretaceous lineages of monocot flowering plants |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=97 |issue=9 |pages=4707–4711 |doi=10.1073/pnas.080421597 |pmid=10759567 |issn=0027-8424|pmc=18297 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2000PNAS...97.4707B }}</ref>
=== Taxa === These species and hybrids are currently accepted:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do|title=Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, genus ''Typha''|access-date=18 September 2014}}</ref>
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em| * ''Typha albida'' – (Afghanistan) * ''Typha alekseevii'' – (Caucasus) * ''Typha angustifolia'' – lesser bulrush, narrow leaf cattail (America), or ''jambu'' (India) * ''Typha × argoviensis'' – (Germany and Switzerland) * ''Typha austro-orientalis'' – (European Russia) * ''Typha azerbaijanensis'' – (Iran) * ''Typha × bavarica'' – (Germany) * ''Typha capensis'' – (tropical and southern Africa) * ''Typha changbaiensis'' – (northeastern China) * ''Typha davidiana'' – (China) * ''Typha domingensis'' – bulrush, southern cattail (America), narrow-leaved cumbungi<ref>{{cite web |last1=Briggs |first1=B.G. |title=Typha domingensis |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Typha%20domingensis |website=Flora of Australia |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment |access-date=28 March 2021 |location=Canberra |date=2020}}</ref> (Australia) * ''Typha elephantina'' – (from Algeria to southern China) * ''Typha × gezei'' – (France) * ''Typha × glauca'' (''T. angustifolia'' × ''T. latifolia'') – hybrid cattail, white cattail (a sterile hybrid)<ref>{{cite journal |first1=S. M. |last1=Selbo |first2=A. A. |last2=Snow |title=The potential for hybridization between ''Typha angustifolia'' and ''Typha latifolia'' in a constructed wetland |volume=78 |pages=361–369 |year=2004 |url=http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~asnowlab/SelboSnowAqBot04.pdf |doi=10.1016/j.aquabot.2004.01.003 |journal=Aquatic Botany |issue=4 |bibcode=2004AqBot..78..361S }}</ref> * ''Typha grossheimii'' – (Central Asia) * ''Typha incana'' – (central Russia) * ''Typha joannis'' – (Mongolia, Amur Oblast) * ''Typha kalatensis'' – (Iran) * ''Typha latifolia'' – bulrush, common cattail – (very widespread) * ''Typha laxmannii'' – Laxman's bulrush – (southern Europe and much of Asia) * ''Typha lugdunensis'' – (western Europe, southwest Asia, China) * ''Typha minima'' – dwarf bulrush – (Europe, Asia) * ''Typha orientalis'' – (East Asia), raupō<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Peter |title=Wetlands - Reeds, rushes, sedges and low growers |url=http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/wetlands/page-4 |website=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref> (New Zealand), broad-leaved cumbungi<ref>{{cite web |last1=Briggs |first1=B.G. |title=Typha orientalis |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Typha%20orientalis |website=Flora of Australia |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment |access-date=28 March 2021 |location=Canberra |date=2020}}</ref> (Australia) * ''Typha pallida'' – (Central Asia, China) * ''Typha × provincialis'' – (France) * ''Typha przewalskii'' – (China, Russian Far East) * ''Typha shuttleworthii'' – (Europe, Iran, Turkey) * ''Typha sistanica'' – (Iran) * ''Typha × smirnovii'' – (European Russia) * ''Typha subulata'' – (Argentina, Uruguay) * ''Typha × suwensis'' – (Japan) * ''Typha tichomirovii'' – (European Russia) * ''Typha turcomanica'' – (Turkmenistan) * ''Typha tzvelevii'' – (Primorye) * ''Typha valentinii'' – (Azerbaijan) * ''Typha varsobica'' – (Tajikistan) }}
=== Etymology === ''Typha'' is an ancient Greek name for the plant. It may be related to ''typhos'' (marsh).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Typha angustifolia |url=https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/2/5/2536 |access-date=2025-11-06 |website=NParks |publication-place=Singapore}}</ref>
== Distribution and habitat == [[File:Ribnjak Jegerseg - rogoz.jpg|thumb|upright|''Typha angustifolia'' at the edge of a reservoir in Croatia]] [[File:Typha with-without cotton like seeds.jpg|thumb|upright|''Typha latifolia'' in Japan]]
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 also 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.
The plants grow in open swampy areas from sea level to {{Convert|2500|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}}.<ref name="Benoliel-2011">{{Cite book |last1=Benoliel |first1=Doug |url=https://archive.org/details/northwestforagin0000beno/page/61/mode/2up |title=Northwest Foraging : The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest |date=2011 |publisher=Skipstone |isbn=978-1-59485-366-1 |edition=Revised and updated |location=Seattle, WA |pages=61 |oclc=668195076 |url-access=registration}}</ref>
== Ecology ==
''Typha'' species 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 a long time.<ref>van der Valk, A. G., and Davis, C. B. (1976). The seed banks of prairie glacial marshes. ''Canadian Journal of Botany'' 54, 1832–8.</ref> They germinate best with sunlight and fluctuating temperatures, which is typical of many wetland plants that regenerate on mud flats.<ref>Shipley, B., et al. (1989). Regeneration and establishment strategies of emergent macrophytes. ''Journal of Ecology'' 77, 1093–1110.</ref> The plants also spread by rhizomes, forming large, interconnected stands.
''Typha'' species are considered to be dominant competitors in wetlands in many areas, and they often exclude other plants with their dense canopy.<ref name="Keddy">{{cite book |last=Keddy |first=P. A. |title=Wetland Ecology: Principals and Conservation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-51940-3 |pages=497}}</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref>
Well-developed aerenchymae make the plants tolerant of submersion. Even the dead stalks are capable of transmitting oxygen to the rooting zone.
Although ''Typha'' species are native wetland plants, they can be aggressive in their competition with other native species.<ref>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.</ref> They have been problematic in many regions in North America, from the Great Lakes to the Everglades.<ref name="Keddy" /> 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.<ref>Boers, A. M., et al. (2007). ''Typha'' × ''glauca'' dominance and extended hydroperiod constrain restoration of wetland diversity. ''Ecological Engineering'' 29, 232–44.</ref> Control is difficult. The most successful strategy appears to be mowing or burning to remove the aerenchymous stalks, followed by prolonged flooding.<ref>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.</ref> Invasion, importantly, can be reduced or prevented by preserving water-level fluctuations, including periods of drought, and maintaining infertile conditions.<ref name="Keddy" />
''Typha'' species 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.<ref>[http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=895 Global Invasive Species Database: "Uses"]- Retrieved 2017-03-20</ref>
== Potential toxicity == Some species are known to accumulate toxins and so must first undergo treatment before being eaten.<ref name="State of Victoria">{{cite web |author1=State of Victoria (Agriculture Victoria) |title=Cumbungi |url=https://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/sip_common_cumbungi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324200612/https://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/sip_common_cumbungi |archive-date=24 March 2022 |access-date=4 February 2023 |website=Victorian Resources Online |publisher=Agriculture Victoria}}</ref> Plants growing in polluted water can accumulate lead and pesticide residues in their rhizomes and should not be eaten.<ref name="nova">{{cite book |last=Gore |first=A. B. |title=Environmental Research at the Leading Edge |publisher=Nova Science Publishers, Inc. |year=2007 |location=New York |pages=106}}</ref>
== Uses == {{nutritionalvalue | name=Cattail, narrow leaf shoots | kJ=106 | water=92.65 g | protein=1.18 g | fat=0.00 g | carbs=5.14 g | fiber=4.5 g | sugars=0.22 g | calcium_mg=54 | iron_mg=0.91 | magnesium_mg=63 | phosphorus_mg=45 | potassium_mg=309 | sodium_mg=109 | zinc_mg=0.24 | copper_mg=0.041 | manganese_mg=0.760 | selenium_ug=0.6 | vitC_mg=0.7 | thiamin_mg=0.023 | riboflavin_mg=0.025 | niacin_mg=0.440 | pantothenic_mg=0.234 | vitB6_mg=0.123 | folate_ug=3 | choline_mg=23.7 | vitA_ug=1 | vitK_ug=22.8 | betacarotene_ug=6 | source_usda=1 }}
===Culinary=== Many parts of ''Typha'' plants are edible to humans, with various parts being usable throughout the year.<ref name="Benoliel-2011" /> The starchy rhizomes are nutritious, with a protein content comparable to that of maize or rice.<ref name=Morton>{{cite journal|last=Morton|first=J. F.|title=Cattails (''Typha'' spp.) – Weed Problem or Potential Crop?|journal=Economic Botany|date=January–March 1975|volume=29|issue=1|pages=7–29|doi=10.1007/bf02861252|bibcode=1975EcBot..29....7M |s2cid=20072085}}</ref> They can be processed into a flour with 266 kcal per 100 grams.<ref name="Revedin">{{cite journal |last1=Revedin |first1=A. |display-authors=etal |year=2010 |title=Thirty thousand-year-old evidence of plant food processing |journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |volume=107 |issue=44 |pages=18815–18819 |bibcode=2010PNAS..10718815R |doi=10.1073/pnas.1006993107 |pmc=2973873 |pmid=20956317 |doi-access=free}}</ref> They are fibrous and the starch must be scraped or sucked from the tough fibers.<ref name=nova/> Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones suggests the rhizomes were being eaten in Europe 30,000 years ago.<ref name="Revedin" /> Also underground is a carbohydrate lump, which can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked like a potato.<ref name="Nyerges40">{{cite book |last1=Nyerges |first1=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwDHCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP40 |title=Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles |date=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-1499-6 |pages=38, 40}}</ref>
Baby shoots emerging from the rhizomes, which are sometimes subterranean, can be picked and eaten raw.<ref name="Nyerges40" /> Before the plants flower, the tender inside of the shoots can be squeezed out and eaten raw or cooked.<ref name="Nyerges40" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Angier|first=Bradford|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoedib00angi/page/50/mode/2up|title=Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=1974|isbn=0-8117-0616-8|location=Harrisburg, PA|pages=50|oclc=799792|author-link=Bradford Angier}}</ref> This food has been popular among the Cossacks in Ukraine and has been called "Cossack asparagus".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Marsh|first=L. C.|title=The Cattail Story|journal=The Garden Journal|year=1959|volume=5|pages=114–129}}</ref> The inner stalk of the leaf bases can be eaten raw or cooked, especially in late spring when they are young and tender.<ref name="Benoliel-2011" /> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Elias |first1= T. S. |last2=Dykeman |first2=P. A. |title= Edible Wild Plants |year=2009 |orig-year= 1982 |publisher= Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1-4027-6715-9 |pages=69–70 }}</ref><ref name="Benoliel-2011" /> In mid-summer when the male flowers are mature, the pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener;<ref name="Harrington-1972" /> the Māori of New Zealand have a special bread called ''pungapunga'' made from the pollen of ''T. orientalis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neill |first1=Lindsay |last2=Sturny |first2=Arno |title=Pāraoa Rēwena: The Relegation of Aotearoa New Zealand's Indigenous Bread |journal=Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies |date=Aug 2022 |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=65 |doi=10.11157/sites-id505}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pungapunga (Pollen Cake) |url=https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/130959 |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=collections.tepapa.govt.nz |language=en}}</ref>
===Agriculture=== The seeds have a high linoleic acid content and can be used to feed cattle and chickens.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Reed|first=E.|author2=Marsh, L. C. |title=The Cattail Potential|journal=Chemurgic Digest|year=1955|volume=14|series=3|pages=9, 18}}</ref> They can also be found cultivated in African countries such as Ghana.
Harvesting cattail removes nutrients from the wetland that would otherwise return via the decomposition of decaying plant matter.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cicek|first1=N.|last2=Lambert|first2=S.|last3=Venema|first3=H.D.|last4=Snelgrove|first4=K.R.|last5=Bibeau|first5=E.L.|last6=Grosshans|first6=R.|date=June 2006|title=Nutrient removal and bio-energy production from Netley-Libau Marsh at Lake Winnipeg through annual biomass harvesting|journal=Biomass and Bioenergy|volume=30|issue=6|pages=529–536|doi=10.1016/j.biombioe.2005.12.009|bibcode=2006BmBe...30..529C |issn=0961-9534}}</ref> Floating mats of cattails remove nutrients from eutrophied bodies of freshwater.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-10-01|title=The Floating Bioplatforms of IISD-ELA|url=https://www.iisd.org/ela/blog/research-highlights/floating-bioplatforms/|access-date=2020-06-22|website=IISD Experimental Lakes Area}}</ref>
===Building material=== For local native tribes around Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, ''Typha'' species 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.<ref name=Morton/>
During World War II, the United States Navy used the down of ''Typha'' as a substitute for kapok in life vests and aviation jackets. Even after 100 hours of submersion, their buoyancy was still effective.<ref>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=D. T. |title=Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest, Including Recipes, Harmful Plants, Natural Dyes, and Textile Fibers: A Practical Guide|year=1999|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin|isbn=978-0-292-78164-1|pages=147}}</ref>
''Typha'' fluff can be used as thermal insulation in buildings<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dieye|first1=Younouss|last2=Sambou|first2=Vincent|last3=Faye|first3=Mactar|last4=Thiam|first4=Ababacar|last5=Adj|first5=Mamadou|last6=Azilinon|first6=Dorothe|date=2017-01-01|title=Thermo-mechanical characterization of a building material based on Typha Australis|journal=Journal of Building Engineering|volume=9|pages=142–146|doi=10.1016/j.jobe.2016.12.007|issn=2352-7102}}</ref> as an organic alternative to conventional insulating materials such as glass wool or stone wool.
===Paper=== ''Typha'' stems and leaves can be used to make paper. It is strong with a heavy texture but 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Making Aquatic Weeds Useful: Some Perspectives for Developing Countries.|year=1976|publisher=Books for Business|location=Ottawa: National Research Council.|isbn=978-0-89499-180-6|pages=101}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Morton/> Today, ''Typha'' fiber is used to make decorative paper.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jahan|first1=M. Sarwar|last2=Islam|first2=M. Khalidul|last3=Chowdhury|first3=D.A. Nasima|last4=Moeiz|first4=S.M. Iqbal|last5=Arman|first5=U.|date=October 2007|title=Pulping and papermaking properties of pati (Typha)|journal=Industrial Crops and Products|language=en|volume=26|issue=3|pages=259–264|doi=10.1016/j.indcrop.2007.03.014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bidin|first1=Nordiah|last2=Zakaria|first2=Muta Harah|last3=Bujang|first3=Japar Sidik|last4=Abdul Aziz|first4=Nur Aznadia|date=2015|title=Suitability of Aquatic Plant Fibers for Handmade Papermaking|journal=International Journal of Polymer Science|language=en|volume=2015|pages=1–9|doi=10.1155/2015/165868|issn=1687-9422|doi-access=free}}</ref>
===Fiber=== Fibers up to {{convert|4|m|abbr=on}} 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% and ''T. glauca'' can produce 7 to 10 tons per hectare annually.<ref name=Morton/>
===Biofuel=== ''Typha'' can be used as a source of starch to produce ethanol. Because of their high productivity in northern latitudes, ''Typha'' species are considered to be a bioenergy crop.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Production of cattail (''Typha'' spp.) biomass in Minnesota, USA|journal= Biomass|volume= 17|issue= 2|pages= 79–104|doi= 10.1016/0144-4565(88)90073-X|year= 1988|last1= Dubbe|first1= D.R.|last2= Garver|first2= E.G.|last3= Pratt|first3= D.C.}}</ref>
===Other===
The seed hairs were used by some indigenous peoples of the Americas{{which|date=April 2017}} 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|date=September 2022}} ''Typha'' down is still used in some areas to stuff clothing items and pillows. It 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|date=January 2021}} -->
The flower stalks can be made into chopsticks. The leaves can be treated to weave into baskets, mats, or sandals.<ref name=Nyerges40/> The rushes are harvested and the leaves often dried for later use in chair seats. Rewetted, the leaves are twisted and wrapped around the chair rungs to form a densely woven seat that is then stuffed (usually with the leftover rush).
Small-scale experiments have indicated that ''Typha'' species are able to remove arsenic from drinking water.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=Jeremiah |title=Removing Arsenic Sustainably |journal=Civil Engineering |date=April 2007 |pages=45–55}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=Jeremiah |title=Treatment of Arsenic Contaminated Water Using Aquatic Macrophytes |journal=An International Perspective on Environment and Water Resources |date=December 18–20, 2006 |at=New Delhi, India |publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers, Environment and Water Resources |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maiden|first=J. H.|title=Useful Native Plants of Australia (incl. Tasmania)|year=1889|publisher=Technological Mus. New South Wales|location=Sydney}}</ref>
Cattail pollen is used as a banker source of food for predatory insects and mites (such as ''Amblyseius swirskii'') in greenhouses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Applying pollen over a crop as an alternative food source for predatory mites|date=January 20, 2015|last=Wollaeger|first=Heidi |publisher=Michigan State University|url=http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/applying_pollen_over_a_crop_as_an_alternative_food_source_for_predatory_mit}}</ref>
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-20th 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 similarity between the plant and kielbasa, a common Polish dish.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
* {{Commons category inline|italic=on}} {{Cereals}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q145707}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Typha Category:Aquatic plants Category:Inflorescence vegetables Category:Poales genera Category:Root vegetables Category:Cretaceous plants