Identification
This native perennial rises from underwater stems (rhizomes) and ends in spikes which have separate male and female flower clusters (A,B). The sword-shaped leaves, up to 9 feet high and about 1/2 inch wide, greatly exceed the height of the spike (C). The male part of the spike, which soon disappears, is found above the female part; they are separated by several inches (A). Each seed has attached long white hairs facilitating its distribution by the wind. Separated from Broad-Leaved Cat-Tail (Typha latifolia) by narrower leaves much taller than the flower spike, and a gap between the male and female parts of the spike. Hybrids and intermediate forms are common; positive identification is often difficult.
Grows in shallow water and ditches, flowering from May through July. Locally common in wet areas on the Fontenelle Forest Floodplain.
The Omaha and Ponca ate the starchy rhizomes and used the dense down to make dressings for burns, and as we would use cotton in diapers and pads.
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