Broad-Leaved
Scientific Name: Typha angustifolia
Size: 2 to 5 ft. (60 to 150 cm)
Narrow-Leaved Cattail
Scientific Name: Typha latifolia
Size: 3 to 9 ft. (90 to 270 cm)
The cattail is unmistakable. Did you know that it’s also good to eat? Its young shoots and sprouts can be eaten either cooked or in salads, and flour can be made from its pollen and rootstocks. Two species of cattail, the common (or broad-leaved) and the narrow-leaved, grow here. They can be told apart not just by the width of their leaves, but also by their height and flower heads. In the taller, common cattail, male flowers grow immediately above female ones; in shorter, narrow-leaved cattail, the sexes are separated by a distinct gap.