Roaming Roots

COMMON CATTAIL, BROADLEAF CATTAIL, BULRUSH, CAT-O’-NINE-TAILS, GREAT REEDMACE, COOPER’S REED, CUMBUNGI

September 14, 2022

A night in Minneapolis to go boating and have dinner with friends.

All around the lake were lily pads and cattails. As a child, my dad introduced me to the cucumber-like flavor of cattail stems and they are still a favorite spring-time treat.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Perennial, rhizomatous, wetland plant native to North and South America, Eurasia, and Africa. Cattails can reach heights 3-10 feet and have flat, grass-like leaves about 1-inch wide.

The flower has two separate segments; a brown sausage-shaped cylinder (the female part), and a yellow spike above (the male part). The female cattail has long hairs that catch the pollen. After pollination, the male spike dries up and falls off.

TRADITIONAL AND HERBAL USES

Euell Gibbons, the pioneering wild foods advocate, famously termed cattails as the “supermarket of the swamp” because the plant provides so much; from food and medicine to shelter and fire-starting materials.

In fact, if in a survival situation and you found cattails, you just found a water source, a food source, and a fuel source.

FOOD

Spring

• The white stems visible just above the soil line are a tender, mild tasting vegetable raw or cooked.
• The male and female pollen spikes (catkins) can be harvested, if still green and hidden away in the leaves, and prepared like corn on the cob.
• The small, pointed shoots off the roots (corms) can be pealed and eaten, also raw or cooked.

Summer

• The pollen can be collected as a high-protein substitute for flour.

Year-Round (but best in Fall/Winter)

• The roots are a nutritional powerhouse with more carbohydrates than potatoes and more protein than rice. 
  • The roots can also be mashed and soaked in water to release the starch. This will settle on the bottom of the container and is collected by draining the water off and then drying the residual starchy paste. Cattail flour does contain gluten and can be used in lieu of wheat flour.
  • Another cooking method is to grill, bake or boil the root and then strip the starch away from the fibers with your teeth – similar to eating an artichoke.

MEDICINE

Cattail root poultice is used to treat burns, bruises, scrapes and stings. The ash of the burned cattail leaves can be used as an antiseptic as well as a styptic for wounds. The amber-colored jelly that grows between young leaves is said to be antiseptic and has been used for toothaches and wounds.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) cattail pollen is called Pu Huang and used to treat nosebleeds, uterine bleeding and blood in the urine. TCM also mixes the pollen with honey to create a poultice for wounds.

Contemporary phytochemical research has confirmed that the plant has anti-hemorrhagic, antioxidant, antimicrobial qualities.

OTHER USES

• The dried stalks can be used for hand drills, arrow shafts and construction materials.
• Leaves can be cut and woven together to create a shelter roof, sleeping mat, baskets or packs.
• Leaves can be broken down into thinner strips for cordage to be used for rope or fishing.
• Cattail fluff can be used for insulation or as tinder to start a fire.
• Cattails are also an important plant for both intentional and natural bioremediation of polluted waters. It is not advisable to eat cattails from contaminated environments as they readily absorb pollutants. Specifically, bitter or spicy tasting plants should not be eaten.

Against my better judgement . . .

The greater Minneapolis area has a population of over three million. I was apprehensive about harvesting cattails from an area with such significant human activity, but did so against my better judgement.

It was already too late in the season for the white stems – they had gone woody. I decided to try to extract starch from the roots.

After thoroughly washing and peeling chunks of root, I blended them with some water. I placed the slurry in a bowl and waited for the starch to settle. However, the root sludge turned rust colored (it should be white). Yikes!

Concerned the color change was due to possible soil or water contaminants, I tossed the project.

Regardless of the recipe fiasco, this experiment was a visual sledgehammer that reinforced how interconnected our ecosystem is.

The earth is what we all have in common.

Wendell Berry

References

6 survival uses for cattails. (n.d.). Preparing for SHTF. http://prepforshtf.com/survival-uses-for-cattails/

Channa, U., Ghanghro, A. B., Channa, M. J. & Ghanghro, I. H. (2019) Phytochemical and biochemical analysis, assessment of metals, anti-oxidant contents and antimicrobial activity of Typha latifolia. Rawal Medical Journal, 44 (2), 402-405. https://www.rmj.org.pk/?mno=6452

Duffy, K. F. (1997, January/February). The incredible cattail — The super Wal-Mart of the swamp. Backwoods Home Magazine. https://www.backwoodshome.com/the-incredible-cattail/

Ebrahimia, F., Torbatib, M., Mahmoudic, J. & Valizadehd, H. (2020). Medicinal plants as potential hemostatic agents. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 23(1), 11 – 23. https://doi.org/10.18433/jpps30446

Kanuckel, A. (2021, August 31). The many uses for wild, edible cattails. Farmer’s almanac. https://www.farmersalmanac.com/cooking-wild-edible-cattails-25374

Plants as medicine: Lenape healing traditions continue today. (2021, April 20). Columbia school of nursing. https://www.nursing.columbia.edu/news/plants-medicine-lenape-healing-traditions-continue-today#:~:text=1%20Birch.%20Bark%20makes%20a%20tea%20for%20treating,also%20provides%20dietary%20fiber%20for%20a%20laxative%20effect.

Sierralupe, S. (n.d.). Cattail – pocket herbal. The practical herbalist. https://thepracticalherbalist.com/advanced-herbalism/cattail-pocket-herbal/