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Typha angustifolia - L.

Small Reed Mace

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200, 270
Family	Typhaceae	Genus	Typha
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Throughout the world from the Arctic to latitude 30° S, including Britain but absent from Africa.
Habitat	Water up to 15cm deep, avoiding acid conditions[17]. Often somewhat brackish or subsaline water or wet soil in America, growing from sea level to elevations of 1900 metres[270].
Edibility Rating	5 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 3m by 3m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats

Pond; Bog Garden;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Pollen; Root; Seed; Stem.

Edible Uses: Oil.

Roots - raw or cooked[12, 13, 46, 94]. They can be boiled and eaten like potatoes or macerated and then boiled to yield a sweet syrup[183]. The roots can also be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereal flours[62]. Rich in protein, this powder is used to make biscuits etc[183]. Young shoots in spring - raw or cooked[2, 12, 94, 159, 183]. An asparagus substitute[62]. Base of mature stem - raw or cooked[62]. It is best to remove the outer part of the stem[62]. Young flowering stem - raw, cooked or made into a soup[85, 94, 183]. It tastes like sweet corn. Seed - cooked[183]. The seed is very small and fiddly to harvest, but it has a pleasant nutty taste when roasted[12]. An edible oil is obtained from the seed[85]. Due to the small size of the seed this is probably not a very worthwhile crop. Pollen - raw or cooked. A protein rich additive to flour used in making bread, porridge etc[12, 105, 183]. It can also be eaten with the young flowers[85], which makes it considerably easier to utilize[K]. The pollen can be harvested by placing the flowering stem over a wide but shallow container and then gently tapping the stem and brushing the pollen off with a fine brush[9]. This will help to pollinate the plant and thereby ensure that both pollen and seeds can be harvested[K].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Anticoagulant; Diuretic; Emmenagogue; Haemostatic; Lithontripic.

The pollen is diuretic, emmenagogue and haemostatic[176]. The dried pollen is said to be anticoagulant, but when roasted with charcoal it becomes haemostatic[238]. It is used internally in the treatment of kidney stones, internal haemorrhage of almost any kind, painful menstruation, abnormal uterine bleeding, post-partum pains, abscesses and cancer of the lymphatic system[222, 238, 254]. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women[238]. Externally, it is used in the treatment of tapeworms, diarrhoea and injuries[238]. An infusion of the root has been used in the treatment of gravel[257].

Other Uses

Biomass; Insulation; Miscellany; Paper; Soil stabilization; Stuffing; Thatching; Tinder; Weaving.

The stems and leaves have many uses, they make a good thatch, can be used in making paper, can be woven into mats, chairs, hats etc[13, 46, 57, 61, 94]. They are a good source of biomass, making an excellent addition to the compost heap or used as a source of fuel etc. The hairs of the fruits are used for stuffing pillows etc[46, 57, 159]. They have good insulating and buoyancy properties[171]. The female flowers make an excellent tinder and can be lit from the spark of a flint[212]. The pollen is highly inflammable and is used in making fireworks[115]. This plants extensive root system makes it very good for stabilizing wet banks of rivers, lakes etc[200].

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, it grows in boggy pond margins or in shallow water up to 15cm deep[17]. It requires a rich soil if it is to do well[17]. Succeeds in sun or part shade. A very invasive plant spreading freely at the roots when in a suitable site, it is not suitable for growing in small areas. Unless restrained by some means, such as a large bottomless container, the plant will soon completely take over a site and will grow into the pond, gradually filling it in. This species will often form an almost complete monoculture in boggy soil. The dense growth provides excellent cover for water fowl[1].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a pot and stand it in 3cm of water. Pot up the young seedlings as soon as possible and, as the plants develop, increase the depth of water. Plant out in summer. Division in spring. Very easy, harvest the young shoots when they are about 10 - 30cm tall, making sure there is at least some root attached, and plant them out into their permanent positions.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Alternative Root Crops, The Edible Pond and Bog Garden, Edible Flowers.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man. 0
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 0
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[270] Flora of N. America 0
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Typha angustifolia

Rikardo Bonino Fri May 6 01:34:36 2005

Just want to know whether this plant has phytoremediation properties

Typha angustifolia

Steve Klaber Thu Dec 7 2006

please bombard the various famine control organizations with this material about typha in general. The famine areas in Africa are infested with various forms of this plant to the tune of thousands of square miles. It chokes lakes, rivers, irrigation ditches, and breeds mosquitoes and agricultural pests. Harvested for food, it could feed the whole continent. As it is, it's causing starvation. It expands in the same conditions that cause the famine- long drought punctuated by flood, so its management is a real key to ending famine forever.

Typha angustifolia

Stephen Klaber Mon May 14 2007

Known hazard for all of the typha family: They absorb and retain pollutants, storing them primarily in the rootstock (rhizomes). It is used for clarifying water and cleansing soil. Any knowledge of how to cleanse the food would be greatly appreciated. There are HUGE typha infestations plaguing all of the famine stricken areas in Africa, but some are contaminated.

Typha angustifolia

Archana Banerjee Tue Sep 4 2007

pollen collected and cooked as 'halwa' as delicious health food; possess antioxidant activity

Typha angustifolia

Teresa Seed Tue Nov 18 2008

Alcohol can be a gas Cat-tails (typha latifolia/angustifolia) are strongly touted as feedstock for producing alcohol for vehicle fuel - VERY interesting.

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