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Typha latifolia L.

Common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassLiliopsidaMonocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
SubclassCommelinidaeDayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
OrderTyphalesA group including reedlike wetland plants such as cattails
FamilyTyphaceaePlants, such as cattails, with a single flower spike that has both male and female flowers
GenusTyphaFrom Greek tufh (typhe), “cattail”
SpecieslatifoliaFrom Latin latus, “broad,” and folius, “leaf”: broadleaved

About plant names...

Common cattail is a very familiar inhabitant of wet areas throughout the Americas, as well as in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is a vigorous colonizer of disturbed areas with shallow water for much or all of the season. It forms dense colonies, spreading by cloning itself, and is common in roadside drainage ditches and ponds and swamps. In fact, cattails have thrived because humans are always reshaping the landscape. Over time, they are replaced by other species, still present but less dominant.

Plants: 3-9½′ (1-3 m) tall, with long, thick, flat, straplike pointed leaves like giant grass blades.

Leaves: ⅛-1″ (6-29 mm) wide and up to 8′ (2.5 m) long.

Flowers: A single stout smooth stem, up to ½″ (1.3 cm) around, supports the flowerhead. A large sausage-shaped female flowerhead is the most noticeable characteristic. It is ⅝-1¾″ thick ⨉ 6-10″ tall (1.8-5 ⨉ 15-25 cm). Above it is a narrower spike of male flowers, sometimes separated from the male spike by up to 1½″ (3.8 cm). Flowers appear from June to July. As the plant ages, the male flowers wither, and the female spike turns dark brown, feeling like dense felt.

Fruits: If the flowers were fertilized, they produce small nutlike achenes or seeds. Gradually the seeds peel away from the stem, floating on windborne parachutes to begin again.

These plants hybridize freely with narrower varieties, so there are many subtle variations. We distinguish here only between this and Typha angustifolia, narrow-leaved cattails.

Edibility: Cattail roots may be eaten after peeling and cooking them. Leaf bases and peeled stems are edible, cooked or raw. Young flower spikes are also edible.

Online References:

Wikipedia

Earl J.S. Rook's Flora, Fauna, Earth, and Sky ... The Natural History of the Northwoods

Illinois Wildflowers

Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

The USDA Plants Database

Floridata.com

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

EFloras

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

6/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

7/26/2009 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

8/21/2013 · Rte 119, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 1 × 2′ (39 × 59 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

9/20/2009 · Maine

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

11/7/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

11/7/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

7/18/2020 · Woodward Point Preserve, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

6/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm) ID is uncertain

 

Typha latifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 10 Sep 2023.

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Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

9/7/2010 · Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

7/3/2010

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

7/31/2021 · Otter Brook Preserve, Harpswell, Maine

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

7/20/2021 · Otter Brook, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

I don't know why this one looks twisted. · 9/17/2012 · Blood Dragon Ravine, Jeff Smith Trail, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

8/11/2020 · Cliff Trail, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

9/25/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 10 × 15″ (26 × 39 cm)

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

8/29/2016 · Wharton Plantation, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

6/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm) ID is uncertain

Typha latifolia (common cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, great reedmace, Cooper’s reed, cumbungi, narrow-leaved cattails)

9/9/2023 · Salt marsh, Flying Point, Georgetown, Maine · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)

Range:

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