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Typha latifolia
Also called Common Bulrush, Broadleaf Cattail, Common cattail, Broad-leaved cattail, Cattail, Cooper's Reed, False Bulrush
Typha latifolia, the common bulrush or broadleaf cattail, is a tall perennial wetland plant that forms dense stands in shallow water and wet soil. It is a species, not a genus, and grows best with its roots submerged or in saturated ground.
Typha latifolia is a perennial herbaceous wetland plant in the genus Typha. It is known in English as bulrush (sometimes as common bulrush to distinguish from other species of Typha), and in North America as broadleaf cattail. It is found as a native plant species throughout most of Eurasia and North America, and more locally in Africa and South America. The genome of T. latifolia was published in 2022.
It is found as a native plant species widely in Eurasia and North America, and more locally in Africa and South America. In Canada, it occurs in all provinces and also in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and in the United States, it is native to all states except Hawaii. It is an introduced and invasive species, and is considered a noxious weed in Australia and Hawaii. It has been reported in Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. It is referred to as Soli-soli in the Philippines.
Traditionally, the plant has been a part of certain indigenous cultures of British Columbia, as a source of food, medicine, and for other uses. The rhizomes are edible after cooking and removing the skin, while peeled stems and leaf bases can be eaten raw or cooked. The young flower spikes, young shoots, and sprouts at the end of the rootstocks are edible as well. The pollen from the mature cones can be used as a flavouring. The starchy rootstalks are ground into meal by Native Americans.
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 latifolia 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
