Typha

Taxa

These species and hybrids are currently accepted:^[9]

Etymology

Typha is an ancient Greek name for the plant. It may be related to typhos (marsh).^[14]

Culinary

Many parts of Typha plants are edible to humans, with various parts being usable throughout the year.^[15] The starchy rhizomes are nutritious, with a protein content comparable to that of maize or rice.^[28] They can be processed into a flour with 266 kcal per 100 grams.^[29] They are fibrous and the starch must be scraped or sucked from the tough fibers.^[25] Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones suggests the rhizomes were being eaten in Europe 30,000 years ago.^[29] Also underground is a carbohydrate lump, which can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked like a potato.^[30]

Baby shoots emerging from the rhizomes, which are sometimes subterranean, can be picked and eaten raw.^[30] Before the plants flower, the tender inside of the shoots can be squeezed out and eaten raw or cooked.^[30] The rind of young stems can be peeled off and the tender white heart inside can be eaten raw or boiled and eaten like asparagus.^[31] This food has been popular among the Cossacks in Ukraine and has been called "Cossack asparagus".^[32] The inner stalk of the leaf bases can be eaten raw or cooked, especially in late spring when they are young and tender.^[15] In early summer, both the male and female green flower spikes can be boiled (after removing the sheath of the female spike) and eaten like corn on the cob.^[33][15] In mid-summer when the male flowers are mature, the pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener;^[7] the Māori of New Zealand have a special bread called pungapunga made from the pollen of T. orientalis.^[34][35]

Agriculture

The seeds have a high linoleic acid content and can be used to feed cattle and chickens.^[36] They can also be found cultivated in African countries such as Ghana.

Harvesting cattail removes nutrients from the wetland that would otherwise return via the decomposition of decaying plant matter.^[37] Floating mats of cattails remove nutrients from eutrophied bodies of freshwater.^[38]

Building material

For local native tribes around Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, Typha species were among the most important plants, and every part of the plant had multiple uses. For example, they were used to construct rafts and other boats.^[28]

During World War II, the United States Navy used the down of Typha as a substitute for kapok in life vests and aviation jackets. Even after 100 hours of submersion, their buoyancy was still effective.^[39]

Typha fluff can be used as thermal insulation in buildings^[40] as an organic alternative to conventional insulating materials such as glass wool or stone wool.

Paper

Typha stems and leaves can be used to make paper. It is strong with a heavy texture but hard to bleach, so it is not suitable for industrial production of graphical paper. In 1853, considerable amounts of cattail paper were produced in New York due to a shortage of raw materials.^[41] In 1948, French scientists tested methods for annual harvesting of the leaves. Because of the high cost, these methods were abandoned and no further research was done.^[28] Today, Typha fiber is used to make decorative paper.^[42][43]

Fiber

Fibers up to 4 m (13 ft) long can be obtained from the stems when they are treated mechanically or chemically with sodium hydroxide. The stem fibers resemble jute and can be used to produce raw textiles. The leaf fibers can be used as an alternative to cotton and linen in clothing. The yield of leaf fiber is 30 to 40% and T. glauca can produce 7 to 10 tons per hectare annually.^[28]

Biofuel

Typha can be used as a source of starch to produce ethanol. Because of their high productivity in northern latitudes, Typha species are considered to be a bioenergy crop.^[44]

Other

The seed hairs were used by some indigenous peoples of the Americas^[which?] as tinder for starting fires. Some tribes also used Typha down to line moccasins and for bedding, diapers, baby powder, and cradleboards. One Native American word for Typha meant "fruit for papoose's bed".^{[citation needed]} Typha down is still used in some areas to stuff clothing items and pillows. It can be dipped in wax or fat and then lit as a candle, the stem serving as a wick. Without the use of wax or fat, it will smolder slowly, somewhat like incense.

The flower stalks can be made into chopsticks. The leaves can be treated to weave into baskets, mats, or sandals.^[30] The rushes are harvested and the leaves often dried for later use in chair seats. Rewetted, the leaves are twisted and wrapped around the chair rungs to form a densely woven seat that is then stuffed (usually with the leftover rush).

Small-scale experiments have indicated that Typha species are able to remove arsenic from drinking water.^[45][46] The boiled rootstocks have been used as a diuretic for increasing urination, or mashed to make a jelly-like paste for sores, boils, wounds, burns, scabs, and smallpox pustules.^[47]

Cattail pollen is used as a banker source of food for predatory insects and mites (such as Amblyseius swirskii) in greenhouses.^[48]

The cattail, or as it is commonly referred to in the American Midwest, the sausage tail, has been the subject of multiple artist renditions, gaining popularity in the mid-20th century. The term sausage tail derives from the similarity that cattails have with sausages, a name given to the plant by the Midwest Polish community, which had noticed a similarity between the plant and kielbasa, a common Polish dish.^{[citation needed]}