K & P Flora - CATTAIL Traditional Cache
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We so enjoyed putting out the K & P Ticket and Fauna series, that we thought we would continue along the trail. This time, the theme is the FLORA. If you see any of the trees or flowers mentioned, please feel free to take pictures and post them at the appropriate cache – but please, NO PHOTOS OF EACH CACHE (sure, the log if you have to).
BIKING is possible for the whole trail. This trail is NOT recommended for thin tires! Puddles may need to be crossed after wet weather.
If you don’t see any flora, then you are caching way too fast and not seeing the trees for the forest! Enjoy the ride and enjoy the diverse plant life.
CATTAIL - Typha latifolia
A stout-stemmed perennial, 4-8 ft. tall, often in found dense clumps. Broad linear leaf blades. The dense, brown, cylindrical flowering spike persist through autumn before becoming a downy mass of white. This tall, stiff plant bears a yellowish, club-like spike of tiny, male flowers extending directly above a brownish cylinder of female flowers.
By its creeping rootstocks, this typical marsh perennial forms dense stands in shallow water and provides a favorable habitat for red-winged blackbirds, as well as other marsh birds, and muskrats. The latter can cause extensive eat outs, creating areas of open water in the marsh. The rootstock is mostly starch and edible; it was ground into meal by Native Americans, and the early colonists also used it for food. The young shoots can be eaten like asparagus, the immature flower spikes can be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob, and the sprouts at the tip of the rootstock can be used in salads or boiled and served as greens.
The closely related Narrowleaf Cattail (T. angustifolia) has narrower leaves, up to 1/2 (1.3 cm) across, a narrower fruiting head, less than 3/4 (2 cm) wide, and a gap between the male and female flower clusters. Cattails are monoecious, which means that both male and female flowers appear on the same plant. The male flowers are at the top of the plant with the female part just below.
PARKING: One or two cars can park where the trail intersects roads, but pay attention to NO parking signs so as to not block entrances. A nice place to leave your car in Calabogie is at the end of the trail (N45 17.916 W76 43.033) which is at the local beach and Tourist Information spot. You may want a quick swim?
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Treasures
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