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Typha
Also called Cattail, Bulrushes, Bulrushes And Cattails, Cattail Bulrushes, Cattails, Cattails And Bulrushes, Corn Dog Grass
Typha is a genus of about 30 tall, reed-like perennial plants (cattails or bulrushes) that grow in shallow water and marshes. They thrive with their roots in wet or waterlogged soil and spread readily by rhizomes.
Typha is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English bulrush or (mainly historically) reedmace, in American English cattail or punks, in Australia cumbungi or bulrush, in Canada bulrush or cattail, and in New Zealand raupō, bullrush, cattail, or reed.
The genus is largely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is found in a variety of wetland habitats. Although they can accumulate toxins in polluted areas, many parts of the plant are edible, including the starchy rhizomes.
Some species are known to accumulate toxins and so must first undergo treatment before being eaten. Plants growing in polluted water can accumulate lead and pesticide residues in their rhizomes and should not be eaten.
The most widespread species is Typha latifolia, which is distributed across the entire temperate Northern Hemisphere. It has also been introduced to Australia. T. angustifolia is nearly as widespread, but does not extend as far north; it may be introduced and invasive in North America. T. domingensis has a more southern American distribution and also occurs in Australia. T. orientalis is widespread in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. T. laxmannii, T. minima, and T. shuttleworthii are largely restricted to Asia and southern Europe.
Typha albida · Typha alekseevii · Lesser Bulrush · Typha ×argoviensis · Typha austro-orientalis · Typha azerbaijanensis · Typha ×bavarica · Cape Bulrush · Typha changbaiensis · Typha davidiana · Southern cattail · Elephant grass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Typha by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
