I’ve spent the past couple of days inspecting the cattails on Zarzamora Creek.
Typha latifolia is a marker for wetlands. That is, it’s one of the species that biologist use to define a wetland.
Their habitat is in or near water. They’ve been found growing in water more than 6 feet deep. Water can be acidic to slightly basic, a pH range of 5.5 to 7.5.
Cattails can reproduce sexually, by seeds, or vegetatively. Their rhizomes can travel 60 meters in two years.
They are monocots. Their alternate leaves are upright. The stem grows to a height of 5 to 10 feet.
Ecologically, the rhizomes are food for geese, muskrats and humans. The rhizomes are high in starch. Studies of grinding stones from campsites in use 36,000 years ago suggest humans were eating cattail rhizomes then. They were used by Native Americans when Europeans arrived.
The modern gatherers say the shoots taste like cucumbers or cabbage when steamed.
Cattails have specialized seeds. The pericarp opens only with water. If a seed lands in a dry place, nothing happens. It lies there. The unpredictable forces of nature might move it to a hospitable environment.
Birds eat them and spread them in birdly ways.
I’ve combed cattail seeds out of the coat of the enormous dog.
I think that might be a good project for a science fair: Take the dog for a walk every day for a month and collect the seeds you comb out of his coat. If you know a student who’s willing to take this on, I’d love to hear the results.
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