What it is
Cattail (Typha species) is in the Typhaceae family. The 'supermarket of the swamp' — multiple edible parts across the seasons, found at any pond edge.
How to grow it
It wants full sun, water it aquatic / wet feet, and give it wet, marshy soil. Target a soil pH around Adaptable. Expect roughly Seasonal parts. Aquatic perennial.
How it's used
Cattail is used: rhizomes, shoots, pollen, young heads.
🔎 How to identify it
- Tall flat strap leaves
- Brown cigar-shaped seed head
- Always in standing water
Edibility
PartsMultiple parts by season
UsesRhizomes, shoots, pollen, young heads
CautionHarvest only from clean, unpolluted water.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.
Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.