500+ Seeds w/Instructions (seeds are very small and fluffy)
Cattail, Typha Latifolia, produces an extensive number of ornamental and consumable commodities. Evidence exists that this plant was in common use in Europe as long as 30,000 years ago. Cattails can be found in marshes and wetlands and add interest to pond settings. They make excellent dried cut flowers, either alone or in mixed arrangements or are used for basket weaving, furniture making, rope and cord making and the like. The rhizome starch was milled and used to produce a fermented whiskey that was common in Roman times. The leaf base contains a natural antibiotic that was commonly used as a home remedy and is now being employed in the treatment of modern antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Native Americans were experts in using every part of the plant, not only for stuffing or the waterproof qualities of the leaf, but as a reliable food source. All parts of the cattail plant, from the roots to the flower heads, are edible. The rootstock can be boiled, roasted, or dried and ground into a powdery flour. The center of the stalks is thick and starchy and the flower heads can be roasted for a nutty tasting treat.
Cattails require moist soil, such as the edge of a pond, or can be grown in shallow water up to about 6" in depth. They are easy to grow in any climate if given sufficient water. Hardy to zone 3.
Other Names: Cat tail grass, cats tail reed, Wild Cattail Grass, Cumbungi, reedmace, grass punks, sausage tails, corndog plant, Massul, Rohrbachia, Bull rush
