Common Name: Reedmace
Genus & Species: Typha latifolia (L.)
Family: Typhaceae
Other Names: Common Bulrush, Broadleaf Cattail, Greater Reedmace, Cumbungi
Range and Habitat: It can be found in a variety of climates, including tropical, subtropical, southern and northern temperate, humid coastal, and dry continental. It is found at elevations from sea level to 2300m. It is found as a native plant species in North and South America, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa. In Canada, broadleaf cattail occurs in all provinces and also in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and in the United States, it is native to all states except Hawaii. It is an introduced and invasive species, and is considered a noxious weed, in Australia and Hawaii. It has been reported in Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines.
As an "obligate wetland" species it is always found in or near water. The species generally grows in flooded areas where the water depth does not exceed 0.8m but has also been reported growing in floating mats in slightly deeper water. It grows mostly in fresh water but also occurs in slightly brackish marshes. The species can displace other species native to salt marshes upon reduction in salinity. Under such conditions the plant may be considered invasive, since it interferes with preservation of the salt marsh habitat.
T. latifolia shares its range with other related species, and hybridizes with Typha angustifolia, narrow-leaf cattail, to form Typha × glauca (T. angustifolia × T. latifolia), white cattail. T. latifolia is usually found in shallower water than T angustifolia.
General ID: Reedmace is an aquatic or semi-aquatic, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial plant. The leaves are hairless, linear, alternate and mostly basal on a simple, jointless stem that bears the flowering spikes. The plants are monoecious, with unisexual flowers that develop in dense racemes. The numerous male flowers form a narrow spike at the top of the vertical stem. Each male flower is reduced to a pair of stamens and hairs, and withers once the pollen is shed. Large numbers of tiny female flowers form a dense, sausage-shaped spike on the stem below the male spike. In larger species this can be up to 30cm long and 1 to 4cm thick. The seeds are minute, 0.2mm long, and attached to fine hairs. When ripe, the heads disintegrate into a cottony fluff from which the seeds disperse by wind. The plant spreads by means of thick rhizomes. The plant resembles an Iris when not in flower.
For food… Many parts of the plant are edible. Before the plant flowers, the tender inside of the shoots can be squeezed out and eaten raw or cooked. The starchy rhizomes are nutritious with a protein content comparable to that of maize or rice. Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones suggests they were already eaten in Europe 30000 years ago. They can be processed into a flour with 266kcal per 100g, and are most often harvested from late autumn to early spring. They are fibrous, and the starch must be scraped or sucked from the tough fibres and have a taste which is comparable to cassava. Baby shoots emerging from the rhizomes, which are sometimes subterranean, can be picked and eaten raw. They are best harvested in midwinter November to February.
Also underground is a carbohydrate lump which can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked like a potato. Plants growing in polluted water can accumulate lead and pesticide residues in their rhizomes, and these should not be eaten.
The outer portion of young plants can be peeled and the heart can be eaten raw or boiled and eaten like asparagus. This food has been popular among the Cossacks in Russia and has been called "Cossack asparagus". The leaf bases can be eaten raw or cooked, especially in late spring when they are young and tender. They have a taste reminiscent of cucumber. In early summer the sheath can be removed from the developing green flower spike, which can then be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob. In mid-summer when the male flowers are mature, the pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener.
For healing… The leaves have diuretic properties and mixed with oil, have been used as a poultice on sores. The pollen is astringent, diuretic, emmenagogue, haemostatic, refrigerant, sedative, suppurative and vulnerary. The dried pollen is said to be anticoagulant, but when roasted with charcoal it becomes haemostatic. It is used internally in the treatment of kidney stones, haemorrhage, painful menstruation, abnormal uterine bleeding, post-partum pains, abscesses and cancer of the lymphatic system. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women. Externally, it is used in the treatment of tapeworms, diarrhoea and injuries. A decoction of the stems has been used in the treatment of whooping cough. The roots are diuretic, galactogogue, refrigerant and tonic. The roots are pounded into a jelly-like consistency and applied as a poultice to wounds, cuts, boils, sores, carbuncles, inflammations, burns and scalds. The flowers are used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments including abdominal pain, amenorrhoea, cystitis, dysuria, metrorrhagia and vaginitis. The young flower heads are eaten as a treatment for diarrhoea. The seed down has been used as a dressing on burns and scalds
In culture… The reedmace is often called the bulrush. However, the true bulrush is actually another species entirely: Scirpus lacustris. There are many theories as to how the confusion came about. Often blamed is the Victorian artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, for included them in his painting Moses in the Bulrushes. This appears to be a folk-myth: Sir Lawrence doesn't appear to have produced a painting entitled Moses in the Bulrushes. He did paint The Finding of Moses but there is not a reedmace to be seen. Around the same period, however, illustrations of this story were given away at Sunday schools. Some of these do indeed feature the distinctive sausage-shape of Typha latifolia. It may be that these - and not Sir Lawrence - are the original culprit!
The seeds have a high linoleic acid content and can be used to feed cattle and chickens. They can also be found in African countries like Ghana. Harvesting cattail removes nutrients from the wetland that would otherwise return via the decomposition of decaying plant matter. Floating mats of cattails remove nutrients from eutrophied bodies of freshwater.
The plant also has many uses in construction. For local native tribes around Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, they were among the most important plants and every part of the plant had multiple uses. For example, they were used to construct rafts and other boats. During World War II, the United States Navy used the down from the seed-heads as a substitute for kapok in life vests and aviation jackets. Tests showed that even after 100 hours of submersion, the buoyancy was still effective. They are used as thermal insulation in buildings as an organic alternative to conventional insulating materials such as glass wool or stone wool.
The stems and leaves can be used to make paper. It is strong with a heavy texture and it is hard to bleach, so it is not suitable for industrial production of graphical paper. In 1853, considerable amounts of cattail paper were produced in New York, due to a shortage of raw materials. In 1948, French scientists tested methods for annual harvesting of the leaves. Because of the high cost these methods were abandoned, and no further research was done. Today it is only used to make decorative paper
Fibres up to 4 meters long can be obtained from the stems when they are mechanically or chemically treated with sodium hydroxide. The stem fibres resemble jute and can be used to produce raw textiles. The leaf fibres can be used as an alternative to cotton and linen in clothing. The yield of leaf fibre is 30 to 40% and Typha glauca can produce 7 to 10tons per hectare annually.
The starchiness of Reedmace means it can be used as to produce ethanol. Combined with their high productivity in northern latitudes, they are considered to be a bioenergy crop.
In many hunter-gatherer cultures, including indigenous America, Northern Asia and prehistoric Europe, the seed hairs were used as tinder for starting fires. The pollen is highly inflammable and has been used in making fireworks.
Some indigenous peoples of the Americas also used the down to line moccasins, and for bedding, nappies, baby powder, and cradleboards. One Native American word for Reedmace meant "fruit for papoose's bed". The down of the seed is still used in some areas to stuff clothing items and pillows. Stalks can be dipped in wax or fat and then lit as a candle, the stem serving as a wick. Without the use of wax or fat it will smoulder slowly, somewhat like incense, and may repel insects.
The flower stalks can be made into chopsticks. The leaves can be treated to weave into baskets, mats, or sandals. The rushes are harvested, and the leaves often dried for later use in chair seats. Re-wetted, the leaves are twisted and wrapped around the chair rungs to form a densely woven seat that is then stuffed (usually with the left-over rush).
Small-scale experiments have indicated that the plants are able to remove arsenic from drinking water and are sometimes included in natural filtration systems. When used in this fashion, they should not be consumed, however. The boiled rootstocks have been used as a diuretic for increasing urination or mashed to make a jelly-like paste for sores, boils, wounds, burns, scabs, and smallpox pustules.
The pollen is used as a banker source of food for predatory insects and mites (such as Amblyseius swirskii) in greenhouses.
For wildlife… As a plant of wetland and its margins, reedmace thickets provide nesting habitat for a range of waterfowl from Mute Swans (Cygnus olor), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) to Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and Coot (Fulica atra). It is also the food plant for some species of moth, most notably the Bulrush Wainscot (Nonagria typhae), Scarce Arches (Fabula zollikoferi) Webb’s Wainscot (Globia sparganii) and the Large Wainscot (Rhizedra lutosa).
At FFPG… It can be found in the ponds at FFPG.
Disclaimer
This is intended for information only. FFPG, its staff, trustees and volunteers do not make any claim as to the safety or efficacy of plants listed for medicinal purposes and do not encourage the consumption or use of any of the plants listed herein. Anybody wishing to use plants for medicinal effect is advised to consult their medical professional.