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Typha glauca

Common name:		Family:	Typhaceae
Author:	Godr.	Botanical references:	1, 43
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America.
Habitat:	Shallow water[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. x glauca[DUTCH]
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	glauca = glaucous;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Typhales. Cat-tail family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 3m. . 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 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. 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. Rich in starch, they can be boiled and eaten like potatoes or macerated and then boiled to yield a sweet syrup[172]. The root can also be dried, ground into a powder 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.
Young shoots in spring - raw or cooked. An asparagus substitute. They are peeled before being 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.
Pollen - raw or cooked[172]. A protein rich additive to flour used in making bread, porridge etc[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

None known

Other Uses

Biomass; 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. They are a good source of biomass, making an excellent addition to the compost heap or used as a source of fuel etc.
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

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Typhaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[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.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[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.

[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.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Typha+glauca
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