With nervous Americans churning around buying up gasmasks, kerosene
lanterns, and sleeping bags there may be increased interest in what is
romantically called "living off the land" and pessimistically called
"survival". The common cattail, a Biblical plant, is one of the easiest
recognized and safest food sources (safe from a chemical point of view,
i.e.), but all swamp foods should be cleaned and cooked throughly to kill
germs that tend to frequent agriculturally and chemically polluted swamps.
You'll find it in the swamps of Afghanistan, Alaska and the Amazon, very
widely ranging indeed. Who knows, maybe this survival scenario, which (via
the herbal depression) cost me my last herbal contract, may stimulate sales
in one of my sleeping books.Survivalists should welcome my CRC Handbook of
Edible Weeds, containing some 100 species widely distributed in this
troubled world, and mostly in all 50 states. This survival oriented book is
still available from CRC Press, LLC 800-272-7737 catalog number #2946, at
$69.95.
Thinking that my readers might have survival on their mind to, I list
several of my "grazing" sources, including a brand new one by Matthew Alfs
(2001) On the cover I described it, after reading a draft, as "A
conservative, erudite, and most interesting account of some 100 edible and
medicinal plants. . .I like what I see." So here are some of the
conservative caveats that Matthew offers re cattail.
1. "Cattail...should be used cautiously by the amateur before flowering due
to a possibility of confusing it with the poisonous wild iris. . .which also
often grows in marsh like environments and bears similar looking leaves..."
2. Do not harvest any cattail growing near roads, as the plant collects
pollutant from auto exhausts like a magnet"[ I suspect this applies to most
if not all aquatic survival plant foods. JAD]
3. Do not eat cattail rhizomes without cooking them first, due to possible
parasitical contamination from having been submerged in swampy environs" [ I
suspect this would apply to all aquatic survival foods. JAD]
4. Use of cattail pollen as a medicine, or heavy consumption of it as a
food, should be AVOIDED DURING PREGNANCY, due to an emmenagogue effect. Also
those with pollen allergies should use caution in any use of it. [ I
suspect the pregnancy warning should be tacked on to all folkloric
emmenagogues; and the pollen warning should be applied to any flower being
consumed, from chamomile to echinacea. JAD]
Here is some of what I said about cattail, a bit less conservatively, in my
CRC Handbook of Edible Weeds.:
One of our easiest foraging species to recognize and one of the most
provident, recognizable and providing food all year long. One June 7, I
shook the male parts of the spikes into a paper bag, easily obtaining an
ounce of pollen (and half-an-ounce of thrips) from 25 shakedowns. Native
Americans used pollen in porridges and gruels, as they did the ground seed.
This pollen is mixed half and half with other flours to make johnny cakes.
At this time of year both male and female parts of the spike are boiled and
eaten like corn-on-the-cob. I've eaten the green female parts raw, finding
them chewy but not unpleasant. In fall and spring, and in midwinter for that
matter, one can find the edible spears arching out under the mud, to emerge
the following spring; inner pith of the horizontal rootstocks has been tasty
every time I have tried it. Native Americans made flour from these roots,
said to attain incredible yields of 140 tons/acre (Harris, 1971), yielding
ca 32 tons flour. Native Americans dried peeled roots and rhizomes over
their fires for later use in winter. Even the minute seeds were eaten by the
Indians, who apparently burned the fuzz, thus eliminating the chaff and
parching the seeds, which then could be added to porridges or breadstuffs.
Survivalists can do the same with the seeds of almost any grass species
cooccurring with the cattail, being careful to eliminate the bristly
appendages that often surround the seed. Young shoots, like asparagus
spears, were consumed raw or cooked by Native Americans. Calcium-rich ashes
of the plant have served as salt substitute. Pioneers used the stout stems
to hold wicks in candlemaking. Wool from the ripe cattails used to stuff
mattresses and pillows. It also serves as tinder in starting fires. And the
flammable pollen can be used, like that of Lycopodium, in simulating a flash
bulb. Although cattails show up in most survival and edible plant books, the
to-me-edible rhizome has sometimes been described as poisonous, and the
aerial stems are described as "somewhat toxic to stock" (Typha domingensis
in Africa (UPW)."The stems and rhizomes have sometimes been found to be
poisonous to humans and to horses, but the rhizomes are recorded as eaten as
a famine food." (T. latifolia; UPW). Famine is what survival is all about. I
have never suffered any obvious ill consequences as a result of my cattail
grazings. Still being hyperconservative, I repeat the warning Though it is
widely eaten by human foragers, cattail is suspected of being poisonous to
grazing animals. (Foster and Duke, 1999.) In spite of all these caveats, I
add, optimistically, that Moerman gives more space to food and other usage
by Native Americans than to medicinal uses.
According to Cohen (1999), there are three edible portions at or below the
ground. Attached at or near the base of most stalks (alive or dead) is a
small white pointed sprout ca 1/2 inch wide and 1-4" long. This is the
leading shoot for next year's growth and is available year-long, It can be
chopped in salads or steamed, with a mild, cucumberlike flavor. Inside the
base of each live stalk is a starchy lump about an inch in diameter which
can be roasted and eaten like potatoes. These are available in spring and
early summer. Then there are copious underground rhizomes, obtainable all
year, sometimes a yard or more long.
Cohen (1999) then discusses the above ground edible parts. Now for the
edible portions of cattails that are above-ground. The so-called "cattail
hearts" are simply pith, the tender tissue at the inner core of developing
stalk. Hearts are more frequent near the base of the plants when stalks are
2-3 feet tall. This heart can be chopped into salads or added to cooked
dishes. It has a mild, cucumber-like flavor.
The immature cattail flower, called "bloom spike" should be harvested just
before they emerge from the top of the cattail stalk. It's a slight swelling
under the leaves near the top. Peel the leaves back, to reveal the
developing bloom spike with a pale green female flower cluster on the
bottom, topped by the dark green male flower cluster . Male portions are
more tender than the female after cooking. That's what Cohen prefers, boiled
or steamed for 15 minutes or so, until tender. (Cohen, 1999)
If you didn't eat the premature male flowers, then there's the pollen. In
southern Iraq, cattail pollen mixed with honey is sold as a confection.
(Morton, 1975). I shake the yellow pollen into paper bags. I did not get
very elegant with my cattail pollen pancakes. But my good grazin' friend,
Vickie Shufer, editor of Wild Foods Forum, a great grazing newsletter and
good source for survival tips. provided me with her personal recipe.
CATTAIL POLLEN CAKES 2 eggs 1/3 cup milk (or its equivalent in liquid form)
1 cup cattail pollen 1/2 cup biscuit mix dollup of maple syrup (optional)
Mix ingredients until smooth like pancake batter. Drop by spoonfuls on oiled
griddle. Cook until brown on each side. (pers. comm., Vickie Shufer)
Morton (1975) tells us how to eat the seeds. Shuck ripe cattail heads from
their core and spread the floss ca 1/2 inch thick; ignite the floss (which
incidentally is a good tinder), stirring with the old stalk, until the floss
is totally burned and ashed. Sweep up the toasted seed and enjoy.
As to other survival usages, Cohen adds that during World War II, school
children in the U.S. collected mature cattail spikes and milkweed pods, the
down from which was used as a substitute for kapok (used for life
preservers, sleeping bags, etc.) The down traits were only slightly inferior
to goose down. Mature cattail heads, carefully broken into bags or pillow
cases or sheets can provide comfort and insulation. Native Americans
insulated their baby carriers with cattail down. (Cohen, 1999).
Morton (1975) tells of huge floating rafts on Lake Titicaca, made of cattail
stems, and Aztec swamp islands made of layered cattail stems.. Stems have
been used as light-weight spear handles. Stems and or leaves can readily be
used to make temporary waterproof lean-tos. I did that as a kid between the
railroad terminals in south Raleigh. Leaves can be used to caulk canoes.
Here's what little I said back in 1983 in my Medicinal Plants of the Bible.
TYPHA AUSTRALIS Schum & Thonn.
Cattail Reed (Biblical)
...and they smote him on the head with a reed...Mark 15
Many old paintings depicting Jesus' mock trial, picture him with the cattail
in his hand as a sceptre. Young shoots, inflorescence and rhizomes are eaten
in various ways. Flowers and anthers are made into a sweetmeat. The sweet
and soft marrow of the immature spike is considered a delicacy. The leaves
are plaited into such articles as ropes, winnowing-trays, mats, and also are
employed as caulking. The silky florets of spikes are used for stuffing and
tinder. Ashes are sometimes used as a salt substitute.
Considered astringent, cyanogenic, diuretic, and hemostat, this cattail is
suggested as a folk remedy for epilepsy, madness, tumors, and wounds. A
flavonol glucoside, yielding quercetin on hydrolysis, has been reported in
the plant. The pollen was used during emergency as an absorbent in surgery.
In addition to Vickie's excellent newsletter, my major sources for edible
species are Facciola (1990), Tanaka (1976) and Yanovsky (1936)
Survivalists are also interested in folk medicine as well. And the many
species of cattails have many folk medicinal uses. Up in Maine where we'll
be doing ethnobotany and medical botany for credit next year, the Malecite
and Micmac reportedly used the root tea for gravel. The down from the
overripe "cattails", like the pollen, has been used to prevent chafing in
children. The pollen, available in spring, is applied as an absorbent to
cuts and sores. The flossy seed heads (mature cattails) are used both to
staunch bleeding and as an absorbent in metro- and menorrhagia, like a
disposable sanitary napkin..
If the current crisis forces us to examine alternative sources of renewable
energy, I suggest that my online Handbook of Energy species might be useful
[Duke, JA. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished. Available online at
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/].
In Alcohol Week (October 20, 1980), there is a headline "DOE MAY FUND
CATTAILS-TO- ETHANOL TECHNOLOGY: SEES LOWER COST, BIG YIELDS". The
unsolicited proposal from a Florida Junior College suggests that one cattail
crop will produce 1,000�1,500 gals/acre/year, while two crops would bring
2,100 to 3,100, and three crops 3,100�4,700 gals/acre, the higher figure
representing more than 110 barrels ethanol per acre. While I believe these
figures are extremely optimistic, I would endorse a serious study of
cattails as a potential energy source. Douglas Pratt is quoted in the
Washington Star to recommend several advantages to cattails. "Since they
grow in wetlands, cattails do not compete for land that could be used for
crops or forests, and drainage is unnecessary. Cattails use some pollutants
as nutrients. Cattail farms near sewage treatment plants could clean
troublesome nitrogen and phosphorus from effluent. Unlike nuclear power and
fossil fuels, cattails do not add heat and carbon dioxide to the earth but
recycle them. The plants use the sun's energy and the atmosphere's carbon
dioxide to produce starches and sugars through photosynthesis. This heat and
gas are returned to the cycle when the cattails are used as fuel. Wetlands
are extensive and largely unused. According to one estimate, the United
States has 140,000 square miles of wetlands from Alaska to the tip of
Florida. Minnesota is estimated to have 10 million acres where cattail could
grow, which theoretically could supply enough of them to meet the state's
entire energy needs. Harvesting cattails in strips is compatible with
preservation of wildlife and makes replanting unnecessary. Cattails spread
with underwater stems called rhizomes and each year can recover the
harvested strips. Cattails are an annually renewable resource, whereas coal,
oil and peat take thousands or millions of years to form." (Duke, 1983) .
Morton recites some Syracuse U studies showing that fresh rootstocks yeilds
vary from 13,636 kg/acre (T. latifolia) to 131,818 kg/acre (Typha glauca)
reduced 70-80%. The dried roots were chopped and pulverized in a hammer mill
yielding 50- 60% flour containing 40-60% starch. Rootstocks are commonly
made into alcohol in Russia USDA research showed that 226,798 MT cattail
spikes could yield 90, 719 MT seeds in turn yielding 15,302 MT oil rich in
linoleic acid. (Morton, 1975)A single seedling of Typha elephantina in an
experimental tank produced 98 non-flowering shoots to 1.23 m tall and 104
crown buds in the first season (Morton. 1975)
Here's my Herbal Desk Reference entry, updated
CATTAIL (Typha spp.) +++
I have taken the generic approach here with DEM, aggregating Moerman's
entries for T. angustifolia, T. domingensis, and nearly 3 pages for T.
latifolia.. The KAB entries are for Typha elephantina
PL992 (KAB); Barda (Arabic); Nataf (Arabic)
ACTIVITIES (CATTAIL): Antiinflammatory (f; DEM); Antiseptic (1; DEM);
Aphrodisiac (f; KAB; EB29:7); Astringent (1; BIB); Circulostimulant (f;
ZUL); Cyanogenic (1; BIB); Depurative (f; ZUL); Diuretic (1; BIB; WBB; ZUL);
Emetic (f; DEM); Febrifuge (f; EB29:7); Hemostat (1; BIB); Litholytic (f;
DEM); Orexigenic (f; UPW); Uterocontractant (f; ZUL);
INDICATIONS (CATTAIL): Anorexia (f; UPW); Bite (f; EB29:7); Bleeding (1;
BIB); Boil (f; DEM); Burn (f; DEM); Cancer (f; DEM); Carbuncle (f; DEM);
Chafing (f; DEM); Childbirth (f; ZUL); Circulosis (f; ZUL); Cramp (f; DEM);
Cyst (f; DEM); Cystosis (f; ZUL); Dermatosis (f; DEM); Diarrhea (f; DEM;
ZUL); Dysentery (f; KAB; WOI); Enterosis (f; DEM); Epilepsy (f; BIB;
EB29:7); Erysipelas (f; FEL; EB29:7); Fever (f; EB29:7); Gastrosis (f;
DEM); Gonorrhea (f; DEM; FEL; WOI); Gravel (f; DEM); Infection (f; DEM);
Infertility (f; ZUL); Inflammation (f; DEM); Insanity (f; EB29:7);
Kidneystone (f; DEM); Leprosy (f; DEM); Madness (f; BIB); Mastosis (f; DEM);
Measles (f; KAB; WOI); Metrorrhagia (f; ZUL); Nephrosis (f; ZUL); Ophthalmia
(f; FEL; KAB); Pertussis (f; DEM); Proctosis (f; EB29:7); Scald (f; DEM);
Smallpox (f; DEM); Snakebite (f; EB29:7); Sore (f; DEM; KAB); Splenosis (f;
KAB); Sprain (f; ZUL); Stone (f; DEM); Strangury (f; KAB); Swelling (f;
FEL); Thrush (f; EB29:7); Tumor (f; BIB; FEL; ); Urethrosis (f; ZUL); VD (f;
DEM); Wound (1; BIB; KAB); Yeast (f; EB29:7);
Very few of these folk uses have proven out, but I'd not hesitate to try any
for any of these indications, if nothing else were available. Many folk
medicines prove to have good phytochemical rationales when analyzed.
TYPHA LATIFOLIA L.
"BROADLEAF CATTAIL" "COSSACK ASPARAGUS"
CARBOHYDRATES 178,000 PO HHB
CARBOHYDRATES 380,000-480,000 SH HHB
FAT 11,000 PO HHB
FAT 15,000-35,000 SH HHB
GLUCOSE 7,000 RT HHB
KAEMPFEROL-3-GALACTOSIDE LF HHB
KAEMPFEROL-3-GLUCOSIDE LF HHB
LINOLENIC-ACID SD HHB
OXALIC-ACID 7,000 RT HHB
PENTOSANS 220,000 LF HHB
PROTEIN 190,000 PO HHB
PROTEIN 78,000 RT HHB
PROTEIN 70,000-120,000 SH HHB
QUERCETIN LF HHB
QUERCETIN-3-GALACTOSIDE LF HHB
QUERCETIN-3-GLUCOSIDE LF HHB
QUERCETIN-3-DIMETHYL-ETHER-4'-GLUCOSIDE LF ZUL
QUERCETIN-3-NEOHESPEROSIDE LF HHB
SAPONIN RT HHB
STARCH 300,000 RT HHB
SUGAR 10,000 RT HHB
TANNIN RT HHB
SOME SURVIVAL SOURCES
Alfs, M. 2001. Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants of Minnesota & Wisconsin. Old
Theology Bookhouse. PO Box 120342. New Brighton MN 120342. 426 pp. $45.00
Cohen, R. 1999. CATTAILS: "Supermarket of the Swamp" . The Wild Foods Forum
Vol. 10, No. 4, July/Aug., 1999
Duke, JA. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. Available online at
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/
Duke, J.A. 1992. CRC Handbook of Edible Weeds, CRC Press, Inc., 2000
Corporate Blvd., N.W., Boca Raton, FL 33431. 256 pp. $69.95.
Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia---A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong
Publications. Vista Ca 92084. 678 pp.
Foster, S. and Duke, J. A. 1990. Peterson's Field Guide to Medicinal Plants.
illustr. Houghton Miflin, Boston, MA.
Moerman, D. E. 1998. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, Portland
Oregon. .800-327- 5680. $79.95. 927 pp
Morton, J. F. 1975. Cattails (Typha spp.) - Weed Problem or Potential Crop.
Econ. Bot. 29: 7-29.
Shufer, V. editor. Wild Foods Forum - Bimonthly Newsletter on Edible Plants.
Eco Images, P.O. Box 61413, Virginia Beach, VA 23466. 16 pp. Subscription
rates are $15/yr; $16.50 International; $3 for a sample issue. Index of back
issues available. Send SASE.
Tanaka, T. 1976. Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku
Publishing Co. Tokyo, 924 pp.
Yanovsky, E. 1936. Food Plants of the North American Indians. U.S. Dep.
Agric., Misc. Publ. 237, pp. 1-88.
James A. "Jim" Duke
Botanical Consultant
Herbal Vineyard, Inc.
8210 Murphy Road
Fulton, MD 20759
Ph.: 301-498-1175
Fax: 301-498-5738
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For Medical Botany Syllabus, with many modules, see:
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/syllabus
For example, there is an Herbal Desk Reference (HDR) Module, with
bioactivities, indications, some dosage levels, and counterindications and
side effects.
For weekly newsletter, see: http://www.fathernaturesfarmacy.com
