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You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have…a mess of trouble. While cattails are beautiful additions to waterways and marshlands, not all of those tall velvety plants are positive attributes to our wet natural communities.
While the broad-leaved cattail - Typha latifolia - is a native specie to all of the United States, the narrow-leaved cattail - T. angustifolia - along with a hybrid specie of the broad-leaved and narrow-leaved cattails - T. x glauca - are invasive and tend to form dense stands that push out the native cattail and other necessary native aquatic plants.
Cattails: Native and Invasive Properties
Cattails are large aquatic perennials, growing up to ten feet tall and are known for their velvety brown spike-like flowers. Both are tall plants but the broad-leaved cattail tends to be taller than either invasive. They can be found in waterways and wetlands. Basically, as long as the soil is damp or there is shallow water with sufficient nutrients the cattail can thrive. This is why cattails can be spotted in ditches along Indiana’s highways.
The physical differences between the invasive and native species are small. In the invasive narrow-leaved cattail, the flower head shows a gap of 1-4 inches between the male and female flower while in the native broad-leaved cattail shows both types of flower right next to each other. The leaves of the invasive are narrow in shape and are ¼ to ¾ inch wide. The native has broad leaves and are larger, averaging ½ to 1 inch wide. Leaves from both types of cattails start off from the base and spread outwards.
Where Did All These Cattails Come From?
While the broad-leaved cattail is native to the States, the narrow-leaved cattails are believed to have been introduced to the Atlantic seaboard from European ships. This plant has since spread westward and occurs throughout much of the United States. The hybrid cattail is concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, but may occur wherever both the native and the narrow-leaved species are present. The reproduction qualities of cattails have allowed the invasive species to affect thousands of acres of marshlands. According to the USDA’s Northeastern Area Forest Service, an Indiana study concluded that the three basic events precede the growth of cattails monocultures: 1) modified surface hydrology, 2) wildfire suppression, and 3) wetland enrichment."
Cattails reproduce sexually through seed distribution and asexually by rhizomes. The flower can produce up to 250,000 seeds and are widely distributed by the wind. The seeds will not germinate unless in at least an inch of freshwater, and requires plenty of sunlight and moisture but not oxygen. The seeds are incredibly viable; dormant narrow-leaved cattail seeds once were found in wetland seed banks that had been drained for more than 70 years.
Cattails also reproduce asexually by rhizomes. Rhizomes are a root-like, horizontal stem that send out roots from its lower surface and leaves or shoots from its upper surface. This way of reproduction is mainly responsible for the expansion of existing stands. They produce dense rhizome mats and clustered leaves to form a thick litter layer that may reduce the opportunity for other plants to establish or survive. Many wetland areas that once contained a diverse habitat for wetland wildlife now have solid stands of cattails. This is why it is important to control the growth of invasive cattails. .
Controlling Those Cattails Gone Wild
Although the cattail is an important specie to marshlands and are regularly used in wetland restoration, the invasive species will form dense stands that will eventually outcompete other, more valuable aquatic plants. These plants establish impenetrable monocultures that enable them to shade out native vegetation. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, these invasive species are also thought to be allelopathic meaning the plant produces chemicals that hinder the growth of other plant species.
There are several ways to control and manage cattails. The best control measure depends on the area and the size, hydrologic state of the site and weather water levels can be manipulated.
Manual Removal: Pulling and cutting have been somewhat successful when done during the growing season. Manual removal ensures that other plants are disturbed or destroyed during the process.
Prescribed Burning: The only times burning is appropriate is during winter or before significant growth occurs in the spring. Cattails can also be eliminated by burning during times of drought. Prescribed burning is most effective when followed by high water levels in the spring to stifle residual stalks. However, if peat is burned during these fires the marsh must be reflooded. Peat fires can cause unwelcomed changes to the habitat.
Mechanical: Manipulation of the water level can kill cattails by the inhibition of airflow from the shoots to the roots. Removing dead leaves and submerging the shoots in early spring will strain the plant and eventually kill it as well.
Bulldozing: Using a bulldozer is quite effective, but costly. It is not normally recommended as it significantly disturbs the ecosystem.
Chemical Control: Herbicides are best used in mid to late summer but do not have any effect until the following year. Retreatment is necessary as is water level control to ensure that seeds do not germinate. While herbicides are useful in controlling cattails, they are detrimental to the wetlands and the animals and other plant species that make their home there.
For more information on ways to control cattails, check out the Ohio and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Interesting Facts and Uses for the Cattail
Typha, from the Greek, tufh (typhe), "bulrush” or “cattail"; or perhaps from typhein, which means to smoke or to emit smoke, in allusion either to the use of the spikes for maintaining smoky fires or to the smoky brown color of the fruiting spikes.
Many parts of the cattail are edible. Nicknamed the "wild asparagus," young cattail plants are considered delicacies in many parts of the world. However, after the flower spike is mature it is too tough to eat.
Cattails are an excellent source of biomass and are good for the compost heap or used as a fuel source.
There are many uses for this common plant including thatch for roofing; bedding material; woven into mats, baskets, shoes and hats; used for ropes and paper; stuffing for pillows and insulation; used to line diapers; and are dried for decorative touches around the home or office.
These aquatic perennials are a good source of biomass, making an excellent addition to the compost heap or used as a source of fuel. According to Mother Earth News, "Cattails can yield up to 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre, as opposed to the 200 gallons possible from corn or 640 gallons from sugar cane, according to an experimental study called the Aquahol Project. Furthermore, the plants can be grown in swamps and thus do not compete for agricultural cropland."
Cattails have shown a tolerance to high concentration of heavy metals such as lead, zinc, copper and nickel and have been used in secondary wastewater treatments and in wetland restorations.
For More Information
Native, broad-leaved - Typha latifolia - cattail information from the USDA Plants Database
Invasive, narrow-leaved - Typha angustifolia - cattail information from the USDA Plants Database
Invasive, hybrid - Typha x glauca - cattail information also from the USDA Plants Database
USDA & NRCS Broad-Leaved Cattail Plant Guide
USDA & NRCS Narrow-Leaved Cattail Plant Guide
Common, broad-leaved cattail information from the USDA Forest Service Database
Narrow-leaved Cattail information from the USDA Forest Service Database
Element Stewardship Abstract on Cattail Management for The Nature Conservancy
The Potential for Hybridization between Typha angustifolia and Typha latifolia in a Constructed Wetland - a paper by Sarena Selbo and Alison Snow
The Prevalence of Hybridization in Cattail (Typha spp.) Invasions of Freshwater Wetlands in Great Lakes National Parks - a paper by Steven Travis, Steve Windels and Joy Marburger
MIPN - The Midwest Invasive Plant Network
CAPS - Indiana Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Mandy Tu/TNC (cattails); Photo © Stock Photo (broad-leaved cattails); Photo © Mandy Tu/TNC (narrow-leaved cattails).
