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Typha domingensis
| Common name: |
Southern Cattail |
Family: |
Typhaceae |
| Author: |
(Pers.)Steud. |
Botanical references: |
50, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Typha angustata (Bory-Chaubard.) |
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Europe, Asia, N. America. |
| Habitat: |
Brackish to fresh marshes and pools in N. America[43]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
4 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Enea [E], Hime-Gama [E], Jonc [E], Southern Cat-tail [B], Southern Cattail [P], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
ingens = huge;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Typhales. Cat-tail family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Dominican Republic; Haiti; India(Santal)
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 3m. It is hardy to zone 5. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind.
We rate it 4/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires wet soil and can grow in water.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Pond, Bog Garden.Edible Uses
Flowers; Leaves; Oil; Pollen; Root; Seed; Stem.
Roots - raw or cooked[145]. Rich in starch[105], it can be boiled and
eaten like potatoes or macerated and then boiled to yield a sweet syrup. The
root can also be dried, ground into a poder and then used as a thickener in
soups etc or added to cereal flours. Rich in protein, this flour is used to
make biscuits, bread, cakes etc[183]. The root contains a lot of fibre[193].
One way to remove this fibre is to peel lengths of the root that are about 20
- 25cm long, place them by a fire for a short while to dry and then twist and
loosen the fibres when the starch of the root can be shaken out[193].
Young shoots in spring - raw or cooked[193]. An asparagus substitute. The
inner core is eaten[172].
Base of mature stem - raw or cooked. It is best to remove the outer part of
the stem.
Young flowering stem - raw, cooked or made into a soup. Tastes like sweet
corn[172].
Seed - cooked. The seed is rather small and fiddly to utilize, but has a
pleasant nutty taste when roasted.
An edible oil is obtained from the seed. Due to the small size of the seed
this is probably not a very worthwhile crop[K].
Pollen - raw or cooked. A protein rich additive to flour used in making
bread, porridge etc[105, 183]. It can also be eaten with the young flowers,
which makes it considerably easier to utilize. The pollen can be harvested by
placing the flowering stem over a wide but shallow container and then gently
tapping the stem and brushing the pollen off with a fine brush[9]. This will
help to pollinate the plant and thereby ensure that both pollen and seeds can
be harvested[K].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Astringent; Diuretic; Haemostatic; Vulnerary.
The leaves are diuretic[218].
The pollen is astringent, desiccant, diuretic, haemostatic and
vulnerary[176, 218]. It is used in the treatment of nose bleeds,
haematemesis, haematuria, uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhoea, postpartum
abdominal pain and gastralgia, scrofula and abscesses[176]. It is
contraindicated for pregnant women[176].
The seed down is haemostatic[218].
The rootstock is astringent and diuretic[240].
Other Uses
Biomass; Fibre; Insulation; Miscellany; Paper; Soil stabilization; Stuffing; Thatching; Weaving.
The stems and leaves have many uses, they make a good thatch, can be
used in making paper, can be woven into mats, chairs, hats etc[145, 257].
They are a good source of biomass, making an excellent addition to the
compost heap or used as a source of fuel etc.
A fibre obtained from the roots can be used for making string[193].
The hairs of the fruits are used for stuffing pillows etc. They have good
insulating and buoyancy properties.
The pollen is highly inflammable and is used in making fireworks.
This plants extensive root system makes it very good for stabilizing wet
banks of rivers, lakes etc.
Cultivation details
Grows in boggy pond margins or shallow water to 15cm deep[1, 200].
Requires a rich wet soil if it is to well[200]. Succeeds in sun or part
shade[200].
Plants can be very invasive, spreading freely at the roots when in a
suitable site[200].
Propagation
Seed - surface sow in a pot and stand it in 3cm of water. Pot up the
young seedlings as soon as possible and, as the plants develop, increase the
depth of water. Plant out in summer.
Division in spring. Very easy, harvest the young shoots when they are about
10 - 30cm tall, making sure there is at least some root attached, and plant
them out into their permanent positions.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Typha angustata (a possible synonym).
References for the family Typhaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[145] Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1976
A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.
[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
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Species Database.
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