The amazing Cattail

Cattails (Typha)

Cattails grow along rivers, lakes, ponds and streams all over the place as well as constantly wet drainage ditches. These plants are the outdoorsmans best friend. The entire plant can be eaten at any time of the year and different parts of the plants can be used for all sorts of stuff like fire making, cordage and making baskets just to name a few.

Food

You can make flour from the roots by peeling the outer layer off and the chopping and mashing the inside like mashed potatoes. Soak the pieces in water to release the starch. The starch will start to settle at the bottom of the container. Slowly pour the water out leaving the paste at the bottom to dry. You can add a little cattail pollen for color and flavor. The flour can be used to make bread or add a little water for a tasty soup. In the spring, you can eat the young shoots either cooked or raw. As the corms mature they can be peeled and eaten much like asparagus. You can also roast or boil the flower heads. From mid to late summer, the pollen can be collected by shaking the heads over a cloth and used like flour to make soups, pancakes or bread. You can even use the pollen to thicken a sauce up like gravy.

Leaves

The leaves of the cattail plant can be woven together to make panels for a roof over your shelter. You can also weave the leaves together and make a mat for sleeping on. Make 2 mats and stuff pine boughs or leaves inside to make a makeshift mattress.

Medicine

The cattail has many medicinal uses as well. You can cut open the root and bruise the exposed part with a knife to make a healing poultice. The poultice is great for insect bites, stings, scrapes and burns. Burns can also be treated with the fluff from the flowers. Eating the young flowers or making a tea from them can help to treat diarrhea. Ash from burnt cattails has an antiseptic property for treating cuts and wounds. The amber colored liquid that drips from the stem also has antiseptic properties and is great for treating toothaches.

General Use

The flower, once it turns brown, is a great fire starter. Break apart the head and crumble it up to catch a spark from a ferro rod or flint and steel. The “fluff” is a great flash tinder, but be sure to have plenty of material ready as this burns up very quickly. The leaves can be used to make cordage, just cut strips and either weave three together or use the reverse twist method to make some super strong cordage. Leaves can also be woven together to make baskets.