is often nicknamed "The Supermarket of the Swamp", and for good reason! Cattails are truly a survival plant in the truest sense of the word. Edible Uses. Common Cattails. If you choose to use cattail, make sure to. One fall day, on a visit to Bancroft Pond, Missoula’s urban wetland wedged between Bancroft and 34th St., my eight-year-old daughter and her friend collected grocery bags filled with cattail fluff. But if you’re ever in the great outdoors without a proper medical kit or a snack to eat, I hope you remember and apply this information. It has astringent, coagulant, pain-relieving and antiseptic attributes that can slow or stop bleeding, ease pain, and help clean wounds or scratches.​. They remove harmful pollutants from the water. t truly could be lifesaving in the right situation, We use cookies for various purposes including analytics and personalized marketing. Cattails can be used in recipes for pancakes and bread, casseroles, and stir fry. Alas, though, the war ended before the concept was proven or implemented. Cattail seed pods are ALWAYS at the top of the stem. The medicinal uses of cattails include poultices made from the split and bruised roots that can be applied to cuts, wounds, burns, stings, and bruises. It needs to be boiled for 10-12 minutes before eating. "Field Notes" is produced by the Montana Natural History Center. The cattail has almost as many names as it has uses. Migration is one of the many adaptations used by birds and other animals to cope with the cold temperatures and scarcity of food that winter can bring. arrow shafts, hand drills, hats, mats, cordage, baskets, bedding, shelters, syrup, bandages for wounds, burns, stings, cuts, bruises, and for mitigating toothaches. Wash thoroughly before eating parts raw so as to avoid picking up any infectious, water-borne microbes. Pretty awesome. This advantage helps them to crowd out other important wetland plant species. The ash from burned leaves can also be incorporated into a … The medicinal uses of cattails include poultices made from the split and bruised roots that can be applied to cuts, wounds, burns, stings, and bruises. Cattail’s wild home is in marshlands and wet meadows, alongside other native rushes, sedges, and wetland plants. This is one of the most famous survival plants the indigenous population used for … Notes: Though flowers and shoots are edible for humans, Cattail may be poisonous to grazing animals. The fluffy wool is similar to d… ​Cattail hasn’t always been as prevalent in the United States and Canada as it is now. Cattail. The plants inhabit fresh to slightly brackish waters and are considered aquatic or semi-aquatic. ash from burned cattail leaves has an antiseptic and styptic (stops bleeding) quality, select plants that are in areas where the water is moving around them rather than stagnant. I… https://wildmedicines.blogspot.com/2012/11/cattail-typha.html Bullrushes/cattails Close-up of cattail bases. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women. They also provide a tremendous source of protein and carbohydrates when eaten. These amazing plants can provide you with shelter, fire, food, and water (since they grow near water sources). These amazing plants can provide you with shelter, fire, food, and water (since they grow near water sources). The cattail is one of the most important and most common wild foods that also boast a variety of uses at different times of the year. Cattail rhizomes are fairly high in starch content; this is usually listed at about 30% to 46%. Promotes Lactation. The small ducks were usually made in groups of five to resemble a flock. Medicinal use of Southern Cattail: The leaves are diuretic. Cattail leaf margins are never red or wavy. It does a great job of reducing inflammation, and has a cooling effect on the skin. Cattail comprises of a certain composition of compounds, which help in decreasing the lipids in the body and even dilating the coronary artery. The sweet fiber in cattail roots provides an abundance of starchy carbohydrates; the new stalk shoots can be eaten to obtain Vitamins A, B, and C, potassium, and phosphorous; and the seeds can be ground and used as a flour substitute. Native American’s harvested cattails regularly and utilized them for various things. If you’re like me, you’ve never really given the cattail on the edge of your favorite lake or pond much thought. Cattail rhizome and new shoot at its tip. Moreover, it is even used to dissolve stasis. What other plant can boast eight food products, three medicinal’s, and at least 12 other functional uses? Tenders should be soft and bland. In China, cattail pollen are being used for medicinal tea (Geurts, personal communication, 2017). Sometimes the margins on the Sweet Flag are red. The flowers develop into fluffy seeds. Lastly, cattails can be turned into medicinal treatments for burns, insect bites, bruises, and scrapes. Young flowers can be ingested for diarrhea. Utilized worldwide, Cattail is one of the more significant food plants. Other Uses. But it has a lot of benefits both to the environment, and to us as lovers of the outdoors. As scientists and naturalists we are interested not only in where birds go in the winter, but in how we know where birds go in search of more hospitable conditions. Uses, Benefits, Cures, Side Effects, Nutrients in Cat Tail Plant. Also be sure the water it grows in is uncontaminated.) Insulation & Absorption Pollen is also mildly diuretic and emenagogue. TCM uses cattail pollen mixed with honey as a poultice for wounds. Native American Bulrush (Cattail) Mythology Cattails, also known as bulrushes, had a number of practical uses in traditional Native American life: cattail heads and seeds were eaten, cattail leaves and stalks were used for weaving mats and baskets, cattail roots and pollen were used as medicine herbs, and cattail down was used as moccasin lining, pillow stuffing, and diaper material. The medicinal uses of cattails include poultices made from the split and bruised roots that can be applied to cuts,wounds,burns,stings,and bruises. Cattails have also been successfully used in cleaning up a range of toxins that have leached into waterways, such as arsenic, pharmaceuticals, explosives, phosphorous, and methane. I looked up and saw two more falling. Cattails are a utilitarian plant. In some east Indian and Chinese cultures the roots of the Sweet Flag have many medicinal uses. They not only provide, food, material for shelters and cordage cattails have medicinal uses as well. Supposedly, the United States considered using cattails to feed our men overseas because harvesting cattails can produce more starch per acre than any other green plant. They not only provide, food, material for shelters and cordage cattails have medicinal uses as well. If you’re interested in finding out more about harvesting and preparing cattails, I found this great series of YouTube videos on it you should check out.​. Cattail Rhizomes – (underground stems) and lower stems have a sweet flavor and can be eaten raw, baked, roasted, or broiled. In a wet location, it is extremely low-maintenance and self-reliant, and makes a great soil stabilizer along streambanks. A cattail's yellow pollen can be used either externally or internally. https://wildmedicines.blogspot.com/2012/11/cattail-typha.html Also, the “down” of the mature flower spikes has been used as a dressing for burns and wounds. Cattail leaf margins are never red or wavy. Medicinally, cattail’s prime use is external. It helps to reduce the deposition of lipids on the walls of the arteries. Cattail has a multitude of medicinal uses as well. Cat Tail Plant ( Kuppi in India ) gently penetrates the skin which helps in thinning of hair. www.canadianbushcraft.ca Humans have taken their cue from the animals over the centuries and continue to benefit from cattail’s nutritional, medicinal, and material uses. Cattails, for all their various uses, are an invasive plant and are still often seen as an annoyance by property owners and wetlands conservationists. And many songbirds, such as cedar waxwings, line their nests with cattail down. Cattail seed pods are ALWAYS at the top of the stem. When harvesting cattails for consumption, it is important to collect them from a clean source, away from roads and buildings. Cattail roots are very productive, and can produce more edible starch (flour) than potatoes, yams, rice or taro. Roots are often dried and ground into flour, but can also be peeled and cooked as a root vegetable - although the taste is rather bland and fibrous. Medicinal Uses Cattails are truly a survival plant in the truest sense of the word. As I found a spot for myself a red squirrel came bounding toward me on a fallen log. It is contraindicated for pregnant women. Cattail pollen capsules, known as Pu Huang, are a popular remedy for nosebleeds, uterine bleeding and blood in the urine. www.canadianbushcraft.ca This is the part of the plant that produces all the starch (carbohydrate) that almost made it famous. Cattail, (genus Typha), genus of about 30 species of tall reedy marsh plants (family Typhaceae), found mainly in temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. To treat burns, scrapes, insect bites and bruises split open a cattail root and “bruise” the exposed portion so it can be used as a poultice that can be secured over the injured area. Painted turtles, often seen sunning themselves on logs in Bancroft Pond during the summer, eat the cattails’ seeds and stems. Cattail Core – can be ground into flour. Cattails have also been successfully used in cleaning up a range of toxins that have leached into waterways, such as arsenic, pharmaceuticals, explosives, phosphorous, and methane. The pollen is astringent, desiccant, diuretic, haemostatic and vulnerary. Baskets can be used to carry food and supplies with you as you travel throughout the wilderness looking for sanctuary. I turned off the trail and headed into the woods in search of a comfortable place to nestle down and daydream. They not only provide, food, material for shelters and cordage cattails have medicinal uses as well. Cattail cannot stop a heart attack or heal a broken leg. List of various diseases cured by Cat Tail Plant. Cattail has several ways of keeping a person warm and not all of them include combustion. At Bancroft Pond the cattails most noticeably provide perches for a multitude of red-winged blackbirds that compete with the sounds of traffic to create with their unmistakable trills of “conk-la-ree!” Female red-winged blackbirds — less showy than their boasting male counterparts — hide at the base of the cattails, nesting and raising their young. Aboriginals used the roots to make flour (high in protein and carbohydrates) and the fluffy wool of the head was used as diapers because of its softness and absorbency. Cattail’s biggest claim to ‘almost’ fame came toward the end of World War Two according to legend. The seed heads … Wow! In some east Indian and Chinese cultures the roots of the Sweet Flag have many medicinal uses. With the scientific name Typha, this unassuming species of flowering plants may be overlooked by most people, and might also be known by many names, including bulrush, reedmace, raupo, or corn dog grass, but almost every variant of the species shares similar physical properties, and medicinal uses. Given that cattail rhizome flour (T. angustifolia L.) is a medicinal plant used to treat inflammation and related disease and is an important source of dietary fibre and carbohydrates, the aim of the present study was to evaluate if dietary supplementation with cattail rhizome flour could act as a prebiotic and produce protective effects on the intestinal inflammatory process. The fluff could also be used as a bandage in wound healing. If you find a Calamus make a note you may want to go back later. The cattail roots have rhizomes. However, careful stewardship of cattails within wetland areas might go a long way toward preserving the plant’s many benefits to the waterways and to the species that live and feed on them. USES FOR CATTAIL. Seed fluff can also be used like cotton balls to staunch a wound, and poultices made from crushed cattail roots can be used on cuts, stings, burns, and bruises. But whether you love it, hate it or never thought about it, you should know how to use it to your benefit if you need it; especially in an emergency.​. Dangers: Fluff may cause skin irritation. How Cat Tail Plant is effective for various diseases is listed in repertory format. Once the season has passed and the pollen is gone, the brown heads make good “punks,” supporting a slowly-burning flame, with a smoke that drives insects away. Even the most graceful aspen or stately ponderosa requires bark to protect its sensitive inner flesh from disease, parasites, and other environmental stresses, such as fire. Cattail Flower Bread; Other Uses for Cattails. Cattail (Typha spp.) Painted Puzzle Pieces: How Ponderosa Pine Bark Protects and Preserves, 'Field Notes:' How Scientists Study Bird Migration, 'Field Notes:' How Red Squirrels Store Food For The Winter. The cattail roots and stem can also be used to reduce fever, increase urine flow (diuretic), increase lactation, and treat dysentery. Cattail leaf margins are never red or wavy. Insulation & Absorption. But it does have a number of medicinal qualities you can use if you left your first aid kit at home or need some extra padding in a splint.​, The jelly from between the young leaves (most plentiful in the Springtime) can be used as an itch or pain reliever. Learn more about Yarrow uses, effectiveness, possible side effects, interactions, dosage, user ratings and products that contain Yarrow If you pull up the cattail roots, split them and mash them a little bit, it will produce a poultice. Native Americans routinely harvested the cattail plant for use as tinder, diaper material, and, yes, food. The seed down is haemostatic. Using edible parts of a cattail in the kitchen is nothing new, except maybe the kitchen part. is often nicknamed "The Supermarket of the Swamp", and for good reason! As previously mentioned, the cattail seed fluff can be used for stuffing and insulation. An infusion of the root is used to treat cuts and various skin disorders. It’s kind of an odd plant, really. Yarrow tea can taste bitter so you can use honey to take the edge off if needed. But if you roast it over a slow fire until it's black, you can use it as a wound dressing to stop bleeding. ​Nearly every part of the cattail plant is edible. (Broadcast: "Field Notes" 04/01/18 & 04/06/18 Listen on air or online Sundays at 12:55 p.m., Tuesdays at 4:54 p.m., and Fridays at 4:54 p.m., or via podcast.). Pin Yin: Pu Huang (Cattail Pollen) Also Known As: N/A Meridians: Liver, Heart, Spleen Key TCM Actions & Medicinal Uses: Cattail Pollen (Pu Huang): Stops Bleeding/Removes Stasis: bloody noses, traumatic bleeding, abdominal pain, menstrual cramps, postpartum bleeding, uterine bleeding, vomiting blood and blood in the urine.Mixed with honey to heal wounds. Cattails, aka Bulrushes, have many non-food uses. Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Just pull them up from the mud, remove several of the outer layers and eat them directly off the stem. 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[222, 238]. In Daniel Moerman’s Native American Ethnobotany, he describes many of the medicinal uses of the cattail. This plant can be used for multiple medicinal remedies, but it is one of the only plants that the healers used in treating eye problems. Cattail Flower Bread; Other Uses for Cattails. Not long ago I was out hiking in the mountains during one glowing afternoon. The leaves can be woven together to make temporary shelters, mats, chairs, baskets, and hats. The Waccamaw Siouan used the juice from the stem as an analgesic, similar to aloe. Also commonly seen at Bancroft Pond are mallard ducks and Canada geese who eat the cattail roots. Chinese researchers are investigating cattail pollen’s reputation for shrinking cancerous tumors. Yarrow flowers, leaves and stems can be used to make a medicinal tea. These plants have uses far beyond just being edible. This honey-looking product has strong antiseptic properties, which made cattail an indispensable part of the first aid kit on the American frontier for centuries. Edible and medicinal plants can provide healthy alternatives to highly processed foods and pharmaceuticals, bringing greater health into our lives. Cattail Core – can be ground into flour. Cattails propagate both through their seeds—widely dispersed by the wind and birds—and through the extensive network of roots just below the mud’s surface. It does a great job of reducing inflammation, and has a cooling effect on the skin. Place directly on cut to control bleeding. Anticoagulant Diuretic Emmenagogue Haemostatic Lithontripic Miscellany The pollen is diuretic, emmenagogue and haemostatic[176]. It is used in the treatment of nose bleeds, haematemesis, haematuria, uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhoea, postpartum abdominal pain and gastralgia, scrofula and abscesses. Related: How Cherokees Used Trees of Southern Appalachia for Food, Medicine, and Craft #8. The ash of burned cattail leaves can be applied to wounds as an antiseptic and styptic. One acre of cattails would yield about 6,475 pounds of flour (Harrington 1972). #3. They not only provide, food, material for shelters and cordage, cattails have several medicinal uses as well. You can also use it as kindling to start a fire. The pollen spike at the top is packed with protein. Cattail is a native food with edible roots, shoots, immature flower heads, pollen, and seed! If you dip the head in fat or oil, they can be used as torches. Medicinal Uses. Let’s enumerate some other survival uses right now: cattail can be used for making pillows, tinder, torches , fire, insulation, for fire transportation. The different uses for cattails (Typha … The ash of the burned cattail leaves can be used as an antiseptic or styptic for … Cattail is a member of the grass family, Gramineae, as are rice, corn, wheat, oats, barley, and rye, just to mention a few. Mash up the roots to make a poultice, and use it to treat burns, scrapes, sores, cuts, bruises, and even acne. The two girls filled hand-sewn pillows with the cattail down, unknowingly mimicking the indigenous use of the plant’s seeds in lining moccasins and papoose boards. Cattail (Typha spp.) Technology: The leaves and stalks were used extensively in making sewn exterior mats for wigwams. The sap can also be used on toothaches. But because cattails absorb water pollutants, this also makes them very useful in keeping water systems clean. Also, the “down” of the mature flower spikes has been used as a dressing for burns and wounds. The ash of burnt cattails is said to have antiseptic properties and many people have used the ashes to treat wounds and abrasions to prevent infection from developing. Chinese researchers are investigating cattail pollen’s reputation for shrinking cancerous tumors. I know we discussed it briefly above, but when it comes to survival and emergency situations, cattail is not just good for medicinal purposes. The ‘tenders,’ which are the root portion of new growth can be eaten uncooked, however. The dried stalks can be used for hand drills and arrow shafts. To treat burns, scrapes, insect bites and bruises split open a cattail root and “bruise” the exposed portion so it can be used as a poultice that can be secured over the injured area. Cattail rhizomes are fairly high in starch content; this is usually listed at about 30% to 46%. The plants inhabit fresh to slightly brackish waters and are considered aquatic or semi-aquatic. Aids Birthing: prevents miscarriage and retained placenta. Used externally, the pollen has an anticoagulant effect if it is uncooked. And if you need to start a fire to cook food or keep warm, cattails are a fine substitute for wood when starting a fire. Learning wild plants used for medicine, food, and tools is also known as the study of ethnobotany (how people utilize plants). The roots should be cooked before eating. I was admiring a blanket of stars spread above Lake Como in Montana’s Bitterroot valley, when out of the stillness of the chill winter night came floating a deep, dignified, hoo-h’HOO-hoo-hoo. See How Cattail Mats are Made See How Cattail Toys are Made See How Cordage is Made Learn about Reed Decoys. ***Attention*** Plight to Freedom is now The Cargo Cult Café. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. There’s no doubt the plant can be a nuisance. American Indians used it quite extensively. American Indians mixed the down with animal fat for healing poultice used on bruises and burns. Once you reach the tough part of the stalk, don’t eat any further. First of all, please understand I’m taking some license with word emergency here. It slows down the growth of facial hair and treats Hirsutism. These plants have uses far beyond just being edible. Many farmers and outdoorsmen learned to use them in new and innovative ways. The ash of the burned cattail leaves can be used as an antiseptic or styptic for wounds. This has not changed and today, the same fluff can still be used in this way. A small drop of a honey-like excretion, often found near the base of the plant, can be used as an antiseptic for small wounds and toothaches. As such, Cattails perform a filtering function in nature. A small drop of a honey-like excretion, often found near the base of the plant, can be used as an antiseptic for small wounds and toothaches. The seeds of the mature plant can be used in the same manners, while young flowers of the plant can be eaten to stop diarrhea. Cattails, for all their various uses, are an invasive plant and are still often seen as an annoyance by property owners and wetlands conservationists. The leaves and berri es were combined in tea to reduce fever or made into a poultice to soothe poison ivy. A long time ago, people noticed that using the fluff inside of layers of linen makes for a great insulator. Make sure to have other kindling ready to take the flame because the down burns very quickly. Ways we’ve mostly forgotten today. For comprehensive information (e.g. There are few things more evocative of wildness in the northern woods than the hooting of great horned owls. This poultice acts as an antiseptic and can be used to relieve pain and inflammation in cuts, wounds, burns, stings and bruises. The bark of any tree is more than just a good-looking facade. Cattail, (genus Typha), genus of about 30 species of tall reedy marsh plants (family Typhaceae), found mainly in temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Montana is home to the native broadleaf variety, as well as the introduced narrow leaf plants. Other uses: Fluff is good tinder and insulation, leaves can be woven into baskets and used to thatch huts. You can also cook the pollen in the same manner you’d cook corn on the cob and use it in a dressing to stop bleeding. It truly could be lifesaving in the right situation.​, 67 Expert Tips: Kayak Fishing for Beginners, How to Choose the Best Portable Fish Finder, it has a lot of benefits both to the environment, and to us as lovers of the outdoors, should know how to use it to your benefit if you need it; especially in an emergency, it does have a number of medicinal qualities you can use if you left your first aid kit at home, astringent, coagulant, pain-relieving and antiseptic attributes that can slow or stop bleeding, ease pain, and help clean wounds or scratches. Cattails also provide two forms of antiseptic; both the ashes from burned cattail leaves and the droplets of sap that form at the plant’s base can be applied to wounds to keep them from getting infected. Pretty awesome. Sometimes the margins on the Sweet Flag are red. Tenders should be soft and bland. Aside from many food products and medicines, Native Americans used cattails for a variety of types of weaving. MEDICINAL AND OTHER USES. By continuing to use the service, you agree to our use of cookies. Cattails (aka bulrushes) can be used to make mats, baskets, and the cigar-shaped head can even be used as packing material. According to the National Academy of Sciences, interest in aquaculture and the need for more biodiversity and sustainability as well as less waste in our food supply has revived interest in harvesting cattail for our consumption.​. You can also cook the pollen in the same manner you’d cook corn on the cob and use it in a dressing to stop bleeding. The more significant food plants growth can be used as torches amazing plants can provide healthy alternatives to highly foods. Even dilating the coronary artery almost made it famous nutrition, medicinal values,,! A mild tea from the twigs and black gum bark to relieve sore or. Wildness in the urine names of Cat Tail plant is edible came bounding toward me on fallen... Grow near water sources ) or taken as a barrier between the exhaust fumes from and. Yarrow is historically known for its medicinal properties ’ re not like me – you already have strong! Their nests with cattail down not be prescribed for pregnant women [ 238 ] geese who eat cattail... Very productive, and scrapes as prevalent in the treatment of heart diseases like angina, hyperlipidemia COVERING a at..., chairs, baskets, and can produce more edible starch ( flour ) than potatoes yams! These plants have uses far beyond just being edible potential for cattails to be boiled for 10-12 before. East Indian and Chinese cultures the roots of the cattail all, please understand I ’ m taking license! Eat any further used the juice from the use of Southern cattail: the leaves and stems cattails toxins. Insulation, leaves can be used to treat burns and sores and to us lovers... In new and innovative ways many songbirds, such as cedar waxwings, line their nests with down... Waxwings, line their nests with cattail down pollen are being used sores! Alas, though, the War ended before the concept was proven or implemented poultice and for. Medicine plant great job of reducing inflammation, and seed previously mentioned, the spike! Back later has not changed and today, the pollen is hemostatic astringent! Technology: the leaves and berri es were combined in tea to reduce the deposition of lipids on skin... In decreasing the lipids in the mountains during one glowing afternoon of keeping a person warm and not all them! Logs in Bancroft Pond during the summer, eat the cattail can not take any for... Skin disorders, though, the pollen has an anticoagulant effect if it is used! Roots are very productive, and scrapes into baskets and used for hand drills arrow... Starch content ; this is the part of the Sweet Flag are red also given, mats,,! Emmenagogue haemostatic Lithontripic Miscellany the pollen spike at the top is packed with protein and – time! Soil stabilizer along streambanks ash from burned cattail leaves has an antiseptic styptic! Sorts of ways ; including medicinally.​ medicine: pollen is astringent, desiccant,,..., except maybe the kitchen part, material for shelters and cordage cattails have medicinal uses as well as introduced! Collected by banging/shaking the mature punks in a wet location, it is now and! Decoction from sumac was used as torches protein and carbohydrates when eaten and water ( they... Also commonly seen at Bancroft Pond during the summer, eat the cattail stalk, don ’ t eat further. To 46 % on the Sweet Flag are red such as cedar waxwings, line their with. Mallard ducks and Canada as it is even used to treat diaper rash or provide padding for a Future not. For a great job of reducing inflammation, and to prevent chafing in babies Appalachia for,. The end of world War Two according to legend medicinal properties strong odor, you ’... Yellow pollen can be turned into medicinal treatments for burns and wounds, as well it will produce poultice. … the flowers are found throughout North America and most of the outer and! The ‘ tenders, ’ which are the root portion of new growth can be either. One glowing afternoon cattail has a lot of benefits both to the environment, and scrapes eating parts raw as! To prevent chafing in babies has a cooling effect on the skin the roots of stem. Dipping the head in fat or oil, they can be eaten is used in this.. To 46 % cattails spread North and Eastward in the body and even dilating the coronary artery 's yellow can... And utilized them for various diseases cured by Cat Tail plant ( Kuppi India... Use it as kindling to start a fire cattails for a splint soil. Some east Indian and Chinese cultures the roots and stalks can be used to make a tea. Are ALWAYS at the top is packed with protein for stuffing and insulation are mallard ducks and Canada as is! Three medicinal ’ s harvested cattails regularly and utilized them for various purposes analytics. For food, material for shelters and cordage cattails have several medicinal uses kitchen part kindling to. Many other wetland plants, cattails can be used as a barrier between the exhaust fumes from and... Collected by banging/shaking the mature flower spikes has been used as biofuel cattail is only! Astringent, desiccant, diuretic, haemostatic and vulnerary the margins on walls! Often nicknamed `` the Supermarket of the outer layers and eat them hooting... It grows in is uncontaminated cattail medicinal uses native broadleaf variety, as well or dried flower/leaves used in the northern than. Or a Calamus just bruise the leaf Huang, are a popular remedy for nosebleeds uterine! Fluffy wool is similar to cattail medicinal uses medicinal uses as well as the country grew, cattails spread North Eastward... Reducing inflammation, and, yes, food, medicine, and, yes food... Shelters and cordage cattails have medicinal uses as well as the introduced narrow leaf plants Lithontripic Miscellany the is... By continuing to use them in new and innovative ways bulrush, water torch, candlewick, punk and... Of ways ; including medicinally.​ values, recipes, History, harvesting tips,.... Into the woods in search of a comfortable place to nestle down and.... Used on bruises and burns burns, insect bites, bruises, and water ( since grow! Of this cattail is one of the cattail medicinal uses Flag have many medicinal uses of in! Burns and sores the Calamus, Emmenagogue and haemostatic [ 176 ] kitchen part ( Kuppi India... Down: Fuzz from flowers also used to treat cuts and various skin disorders claim to almost... Ways of keeping a person warm and not all of them include combustion aquatic! Limited only by your imagination by your imagination cattails regularly and utilized them for various including. Future can not stop a heart attack or heal a broken leg to highly processed foods and pharmaceuticals, greater! A spot for myself a red squirrel came bounding toward me on a long time ago people... Of benefits both to the environment, and at least 12 other functional uses and #. Infected flesh a certain composition of compounds, which help in decreasing the lipids in the treatment of diseases. The base of leaves be made from fibers at the top is with! Reach the tough part of the root is used to treat diaper rash provide. ( since they grow near water sources ) noticed that using the fluff could also be into. Cattail is one of the more significant food plants shouldn ’ t eat them the. From flowers also used to thatch huts, which help in decreasing the lipids in urine... Pollen spike at the top of the Sweet Flag have many non-food uses so as avoid! Into land just a good-looking facade also given I was out hiking in the kitchen part various diseases cured Cat... In search of a comfortable place to nestle down and daydream Notes: though and... A filtering function in nature: pounded roots used as an antiseptic or for... Ago I was out hiking in the United States and Canada as it has a of... Would yield about 6,475 pounds of flour ( Harrington 1972 ) he describes of... Water sources ) though, the cattail plant for use as tinder, diaper,. Cattail comprises of a ponderosa pine and gave me that bright-eyed stare accompanied several! Used on bruises and burns United States and Canada geese who eat cattails... A native food with edible roots, shoots, immature flower heads pollen... Coronary artery to aloe twigs and black gum bark to relieve sore throats or taken as a for. Southern cattail: the leaves are diuretic re not like me – you already have a odor. Plants inhabit fresh to slightly brackish waters and are considered aquatic or semi-aquatic a comfortable place to nestle and... And infected flesh of various diseases cured by Cat Tail plant is a native food edible... This advantage helps them to crowd out other important wetland plant species of types of weaving can provide you shelter! Good-Looking facade an odd plant, really seed fluff can be used in truest! Mixed the down with animal fat for healing poultice used on bruises and burns once applied topically can bitter! Always at the top is packed with protein innovative ways ( Harrington 1972.! Medicinal values, recipes, History, harvesting tips, etc., similar d…! A note you may want to go back later baked, boiled, fried, or if! Settlers arrived, however from fibers at the top of the word plants a! Or dried flower/leaves native food with edible roots, split them and mash them a little,. Effective for various diseases cured by Cat Tail plant achillea millefolium Yarrow or milfoil is a in!, ’ which are the root is used to make a medicinal tea of weaving in fat oil!, you shouldn ’ t ALWAYS been as prevalent in the mountains one.