How to Grow and Care for Cattails

Broadleaf cattails grow on the borders between wet and dry land. They tend to form dense monocultures that can take over wetland areas. Their starchy roots were staple food sources for some indigenous peoples. Broadleaf cattail leaves can be used for mats and roof thatching, and the feathery, water-repellant seeds make good filling for bedding and life jackets.

Southern cattail is a perennial found across the globe. It is known to reduce the bacterial contamination of water. This aquatic herb can be highly invasive and take over small ponds where little other foliage grows. The leaves have been used by Native Americans for thatching roofs of huts and the pulp of the seed pods as stuffing for bedding.

The Shuttleworth cattail grows as a deciduous, perennial herbaceous plant that reaches stature heights of 80 to 150, rarely up to 200 centimeters. As a means of survival, it forms subterranean creeping rhizomes. The alternately arranged on the stem leaves are simple, bright green, 7 to 11 millimeters wide and often tower over the inflorescence.

Narrowleaf cattail is a perennial cattail often seen in North America. It grows in marshy areas. Parts of this plant are edible, but beware its lookalike, Yellow Flag, which is poisonous.

The shuttleworth's cat o' nine tails (Typha shuttleworthii) is a species of cattail often found in large colonies in wetland and marsh ecosystems. Though they are not invasive, they are very competitive and are usually the dominant species over other flora growing in the area.