Narrow-leaved Cattail Traditional Cache

Narrow-leaved Cattail and Common Cattail are the ones that grow around here. The hybrid White Cattail also occurs, but is quite nebulous and not a separate species. P & G, with the cache across the road from the cattails.

Narrow-leaf cattail

Typha angustifolia L., (also lesser bulrush,^[3] narrowleaf cattail or lesser reedmace), is a perennial herbaceous plant of genus Typha. This cattail is an "obligate wetland" species that is commonly found in the northern hemisphere in brackish locations. The plant's leaves are flat, very narrow (¼"-½" wide), and 3'-6' tall when mature; 12-16 leaves arise from each vegetative shoot. At maturity, they have distinctive stalks that are about as tall as the leaves; the stalks are topped with brown, fluffy, sausage-shaped flowering heads. The plants have sturdy, rhizomatous roots that can extend 27" and are typically ¾"-1½" in diameter.

It has been proposed that the species was introduced from Europe to North America. In North America, it is also thought to have been introduced from coastal to inland locations.

Typha angustifolia, habitus

The geographic range of Typha angustifolia overlaps with the very similar species Typha latifolia (broadleaf or common cattail). T. angustifolia can be distinguished from T. latifolia by its narrower leaves and by a clear separation of two different regions (staminate flowers above and pistilate flowers below) on the flowering heads.^[6] The species hybridize as Typha x glauca (Typha angustifolia x T. latifolia) (white cattail); Typha x glauca is not a distinct species, but is rather a sterile F1 hybrid. Broadleaf cattail is usually found in shallower water than narrowleaf cattail.

Culinary use

Several parts of the plant are edible, including during various season s the dormant sprouts on roots and bases of leaves, the inner core of the stalk, green bloom spikes, ripe pollen, and starchy roots. The edible stem is called bồn bồn in Vietnam.

Cattail Comparison

Broadleaf vs. Narrowleaf vs. Hybrid cattail

Typha latifolia vs. Typha angustifolia vs. Typha x glauca

Broadleaf

Mature Leaves:

*Broadleaf: 14-23 mm wide, shorter than flower spike.

*Narrowleaf: 4-10 mm wide, taller than flower spike.

*Hybrid: Variable width and height, usually between broadleaf and narrowleaf in width.

Stems:

*Broadleaf: 1-3 m, stout in form *Narrowleaf: 1-3 m, weak in form *Hybrid: 2-3 m, stout in form

Flowers and fruit:

*Broadleaf: male and female portions of spike typically together; spike < 6 in. *Narrowleaf: male and female portions of spike separated by 2-4 cm gap; spike < 6 in.

*Hybrid: male and female portions of spike typically separated by 2-4 cm gap; spike 6 in or longer.

Plant communities: Broadleaf cattail is the native cattail that will often cross with narrowleaf cattail to form the hybrid, Typha x glauca. Both narrowleaf and hybrid cattails are superior competitors to broadleaf cattail, with the ability to dominate not only healthy wetlands, but also ditches and urban stormwater basins. Narrowleaf and hybrid cattails form dense, single-species stands, while the broadleaf cattail colonies are less dense.

The cache is a "small", camoed pill bottle. This one has a snap lid, an arrow points to the tab you push to open it. Only rolled log and a rubber band in a tiny plastic bag. Please BYOP and put things back as you found them.