Cattail – ingredients, effect and application

Cattails grow in waters up to one meter deep. They are often found in the bank area (reed zone) that is 50 to 100 centimeters deep. Here the plants often form extensive stands and grow up to four meters in height. They are among the most popular pond plants in gardens and city parks. They hardly require any care and can be used as building materials as well as as food and medicinal plants.

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
• Common names: lamp cleaner, cannon cleaner, pfaffenspinat, Schlotfeger, Bullerbesen, Bumskeule, Pompesel
• Family: Cattail family (Typhaceae)
• Distribution: Throughout the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere and in the subtropics/tropics also in the southern hemisphere. As a neophyte in Australia and New Zealand, southern South America, Hawaii and the West Indies.
• Parts of the plant used: All parts of the cattail are used as a medicinal plant.
• Ingredients: Starch with amylose / amylopectin, fats, protein, sugar, minerals, flavonoids (typhaneoside)
• Areas of application: worm infestation (leaves), energy supply and strengthening (rhizomes), diarrhea, anemia, bleeding, ulcers, abscesses, skin inflammation (male flowers)

Cattails – An Overview

• Cattail is a dominant plant in the reedbed zone of the riparian area of ​​stagnant to slow-flowing fresh and brackish waters such as lakes, ponds, ditches, canals, swamps and moors.
• Cattail was and is used in many ways: it was used as a substitute for cigars, for cleaning lamps and chimneys, as a brush, as a building and insulating material as well as firelighters, floristic decoration and food (rhizomes).
• The plants draw nutrients from the water and thus act as a natural water filter, curbing algae growth and increasing water quality.
• The rhizome can be harvested all year round and prepared in a similar way to potatoes. It provides starch and proteins.
• The rhizome of a single plant can sometimes grow across the entire water bottom. Cattails often crowd out less competitive marsh and aquatic plants. In the garden pond you should therefore use it in demarcated areas or in plant baskets.
• Well-known species of the species-rich genus are broad-leaved cattails (Typha latifolia), narrow-leaved cattails (Typha angustifolia) and dwarf cattails (Typha minima).
• Leaves, flowers, pollen and rhizome are used for various medicinal purposes.

ingredients

Cattail provides starch with amylose/amylopectin, fats, proteins, sugars, minerals and flavonoids (typhaneoside).

According to a 2014 study, the starch in cattail contains 32 percent amylose. This is significantly more than potato starch, but slightly less than corn starch. According to this study, the molecular mass of cattail amylopectin is between corn and potato starch.

The cattail has always been used in a variety of ways, for example as a building material, food or medicinal plant. (Image: eugen/stock.adobe.com/own editing heilpraxis.de)

Cattail – Medicinal Effects and Uses

The starchy rhizome strengthens the body and provides energy. Oils extracted from the seeds and the leaves are used to expel urine and stop minor bleeding, as the ingredients have a contracting effect on the tissue.

Cattail also has a disinfectant effect and serves as a remedy against infestation with worms and other internal parasites. A 2009 study showed that different extracts from the plant, collected in India (Tamil Nadu and Bangalore), showed strong effects against several pathogenic bacteria and fungi.

The pollen of the cattail is dried and used primarily in traditional Chinese medicine as a herbal medicine if it has a minimum flavonoid content. The entirety of the different flavonoids in the plant is summarized as typhaneoside.

Side effects

Serious side effects have not been proven. Since cattail absorbs heavy metals and toxins, it should not be used from polluted waters.

To be on the safe side, pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take preparations made from cattails.

Eating cattails?

All parts of the cattail are edible, and the rhizome provides valuable plant starch. It can be harvested all year round and is cooked like potatoes. It can also be dried and processed into flour, which is excellent for baking.

The fresh shoots, harvested in spring, have a taste reminiscent of cucumber and can be prepared like asparagus.

The unripe inflorescences can be stir-fried as a vegetable or cooked in soups. They taste sweet with a corn-like aroma.

Other traditional uses of the aquatic and marsh plant

Indigenous peoples of America used the inflorescences to pad pillows and make baby diapers and slippers. Dipped in oil or wax, the inflorescences were used as candles to keep insects away.

In Africa, the whole plants are used to build roofs, similar to the use with reeds (thatched roofs). The spongy plant tissue is known as a good insulating material. The leaves are woven into baskets and clothing.

Features of cattails

Cattail species have linear and usually basal leaves. These grow vertically and alternately on a hairless stem. Depending on the species, the leaves can reach heights of up to four meters and their tissue is spongy.

The inflorescences are the brown bulbs that develop between the green foliage and gave the plant its German name. The individual flowers are close together and are pollinated by the wind. The plant forms rhizomes in shallow water and often spreads over large areas.

Occurrence and location factors

Cattails like it moist to wet and a sunny location. They thrive best in zones that are subject to occasional flooding. The plants are relatively tolerant of salt and also grow in brackish water.

Cattails draw nutrients and get them from the water and mud. This not only benefits it from its habitat, but also has a positive effect: cattails improve water quality by filtering out nutrients and thus curb the growth of algae and prevent the water from overturning. Because cattails have thin stalks, they are sensitive to strong winds.

Plant cattails

Cattail is a very popular plant in the garden pond. The mistake often made is to release larger Typha species freely into the pond bottom. If an artificial body of water is only a few square meters in size, the entire pond will be covered by cattails in just a few years.

The rhizomes can even crush the pond liner and cause the pond to leak. That’s why you should only ever plant cattails in a protected area and/or a plant basket. They use humus, sand and pebbles as a substrate. In larger garden ponds, you can place several mortar trays next to each other and plant cattails in them. This allows you to create a self-constructed reed zone without the free area becoming overgrown.

You can also create several mini ponds in the form of buried mortar tubs. They then plant some with cattails and others remain plant-free. This also ensures that reed beds and open water coexist.

In the reed zone of the garden pond, only competitive plants can thrive alongside cattails. These include yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus), loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and water mint (Mentha aquatica). The last two in particular can be used as medicinal plants, just like the cattail.

Cattails can be propagated both by seeds and by dividing the plants. This division is easy: you just separate a fresh shoot with a piece of rhizome and place it somewhere else in the ground. With the preserved rhizome, the offshoot can take root in a short time.

Plant care

Cattails require very little care. It gets its nutrients from the water and therefore does not need to be fertilized. As long as the soil is still moist, it can withstand a temporary drying out of the pond. You should only water additionally if the soil is dry.

The main care is to limit its spread – you have to cut it. In spring, cut the stems just above the ground. You can always remove dead and wilted parts of the plant. Severe pruning is not a problem for cattails. The rhizomes form runners from which further cattails then grow.

Cattails ideally have a slightly acidic muddy soil with plenty of nutrients. Such soils form naturally in lakes. For a newly created pond, this can be done by adding garden leaf compost and rotting plant material. (Dr Utz Anhalt)