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Plants
of Southern New Jersey
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Plant
Profile
Typha latifolia L.
cattail, bulrush
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| Photo
by Renee Brecht |
Britton and Brown. See
credits below.** |
| Botanical name: |
Typha latifolia L. |
| Common
name: |
cattail, bulrush |
| Group: |
monocot |
| Family: |
Typaceae |
| Growth
Type: |
forb/herb |
| Duration: |
perennial |
| Origin: |
native |
| Plant
height: |
3-9' |
| Foliage: |
bluish- or grayish-green, nearly flat up to 1" wide. |
| Flower
color: |
The upper and lower portions of the spike touch each other. |
| Flowering/fruiting time |
mid June to July; fruit mid July to late August |
| Habitat: |
shallow, fresh to slightly brackish waters of ponds streams marshes and ditches |
| Range
in
New Jersey: |
statewide, increasing inland; rare in the Pine Barrens |
| Heritage ranking if any: |
n/a |
| Distribution: |
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| Misc.: |
Often hybridizes with Typha angusifolia.
Typha, Greek, "bulrush, cattail"; latifolia, Latin, "broad leaf"
Typha is rhyizomatic. Various birds such as rails, bitterns, ducks, and red-winged blackbirds nest in Typha. The
cattail was well-utilized for food by natives; the early shoots were
eaten either raw or cooked. The young flower heads were boiled and
eaten like corn on the cob. Its pollen is mixed with flour. The
rootstocks can be made into flour or cooked like potatoes. |
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Not sure what a word means? Use Answers.com:
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Sources
**USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 1: 68 |
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