Cattails (genus: Typha)

[Image credit: Kanuckel, A., & Kanuckel, A. (2024, January 25). The many uses for wild, edible cattails. Farmers’ Almanac - Plan Your Day. Grow Your Life. https://www.farmersalmanac.com/cooking-wild-edible-cattails ]

Know Thy Enemy Series

Welcome to the second edition of our series of invasive species education and identification guides. The infamous plants in this invasive series are the three species of cattails found in Ohio which are Broad-Leaf Cattail (Typha latifolia ), Narrow-Leaved Cattail (Typha angustifolia ), and the Hybrid Cattail (Typha x glauca).The Hybrid Cattail is known to be more aggressive than its two parents and it’s to blame for the increasing rarity of native North American species of Cattail.

Cattails can be found all across North America and are especially dense in Ohio. They are easily identifiable and are commonly found around bodies of water in groups and bunches. Their main form of reproduction is letting the wind blow away their fluffy seeds to colonize across landscapes or letting gravity drop the seeds, preventing the seeds from making it far from the parent plant. When this happens, large Cattail clusters form. Cattails flower from May to July and their flowers are the brown puffy cylinders that give Cattails their iconic look. Native Americans had many uses for Cattails such as weaving mats, baskets, and roofing materials. They also used to eat parts of Cattail; this is still common in some places in the US, proof that Cattails are nature's corndogs.

Cattails are aquatic or semiaquatic herbaceous perennial plants. They grow up to 10 feet tall and have a slender stalk-like shape. Their brown fluffy flowers can be up to 12 inches long. Connected to their main stalk cattails have long and narrow leaves that flare out from the stalk and the flower. They tend to root in the mud and water and sometimes their roots go 1 ½ to 2 feet deep making them a nuisance to get rid of.

Cattails grow at an alarming rate due to their two forms of reproduction. They can spread their seeds by dropping them as previously discussed, but they can also reproduce by rhizome spreading. This allows one plant to spread its roots off in a new direction and create a new version of itself. A whole acre of cattails can consist of just a few plants. This allows Cattails to rapidly take over bodies of water. Another concern with Cattails is that they crowd out native plants stopping them from thriving. Aside from competing with native plants, Cattails create stagnant water which can create a hotbed for mosquito breeding.

We have three upcoming events revolving around cattail removal all at Big Creek Reservation. The dates for these events are June 18th, July 9th, and July 19th. Volunteers will work on cutting down cattails to slow down their reproduction in the area. We have been working on this site for over a year and have seen great success in Cattail management. WVP volunteers can register here.

Best wishes,

Jack Conley

Natural Resources Intern

Happenings

Cattail Clipping

August 31, 2023, Fowles Marsh, Big Creek Reservation

[Photo credit: Cleveland Metroparks]