Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 26, 1993 TAG: 9404140001
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Patricia Held
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While it may be necessary to get my feet a little wet to retrieve one of these plants, considering its simple beauty and many uses, the cattail ranks high on my list of wild plants.
Two cattail species live in Virginia. Our local species is the common cattail, which grows in the shallows of freshwater marshes. The narrow-leaved cattail prefers the brackish water of the seashore. Both species are easily recognized by their long brown velvet flower spikes, which look like cigars atop long straight stems. Sword-shaped leaves extend up as far and even above the flowers. As its name implies, the narrow-leaved cattail differs in that it has very slender leaves.
The cattail flower spikes are made up of compact, tiny brown blossoms. These are all the female flowers; the male pollen-producing flowers grow above the brown spike on a delicate stem. These are golden yellow when they are full of pollen and disappear after the pollen is dissipated.
I grew up calling cattails ``punks.'' During the late summer it was alway a special treat to collect a bunch of these punks. At night my father would give us each one to hold and he would then light the end. It would smoke and smolder and give off a musty and pungent odor that kept the summer insects away.
For the number of different foods it produces, there is no plant, either wild or domestic, that tops it. Euell Gibbons called lt the ``supermarket of the swamps.'' Cattails are used for salads, cooked vegetables, flour, pickles and potatoes.
The green unripened flower spikes in May and June yield a good cooked vegetable. Stripped of their thin sheaths and boiled, they produce a tasty food not unlike corn. The golden pollen on the tops of the brown flower spike can be collected and mixed in equal proportion with regular flour to produce golden yellow pancakes and muffins.
The insides of the stems are also edible. Raw or cooked, their appearance and taste have earned them the name ``cossack asparagus.''
Throughout the year their starchy roots can be dug up. Washed, peeled and dried, they are ground into a meal that is used like flour. On the leading edge of these rootstocks are dormant sprouts, which are tasty in salads or cooked as a vegetable.
But since their uses go far beyond the kitchen, those not interested in eating them can still consider cattails an important resource.
Their long leaves were used extensively by the American Indians to weave straps, belts and mats. Even today the long basal leaves are made into rush seating for chairs. The leaves are gathered while they are still green. The 4- to 5- foot strips are then hung to dry in bundles. The green leaves are soaked to make them more pliable, and then the strands are twisted by hand as the seat is woven.
As soon as the flower spikes turn brown, they can be gathered and dried. They make nice additions to autumn and winter floral arrangements. Once the flower goes to seed, the down can be used to start a fire and to stuff pillows and bedcovers. Medicinally, this down was useful to the American Indians. Mixed with animal fat, it was made into a healing poultice for cuts, bruises and burns.
Above all, the cattail tops the list as the most beautiful of the late-summer wildflowers. Even if you have no interest in wading through the water to collect these flowers, their beauty makes them one of the most striking of our seasonal plants.
If you plan to harvest cattails, be sure they have been properly identified. If you plan to use them for food, make sure that they have not been sprayed with insecticide. And if the cattails are not on your property, get permission of the owner before picking them.
\ Patricia Held will respond to readers' questions on the plant and animal wildlife in the region. Mail inquiries to: Patricia Held, P.O. Box 65, Goode, Va. 24556.
\ Patricia Held is a Bedford County free-lance writer and author specializing in natural history.
by CNB