narrowleaf cat-tail, Typha angustifolia

Do moms hate cat-tails? Probably not these days. Do kids still fight wars using these as maces? What a wonderful puff the make when you whack your enemy with a ripe one. But they leave fuzz all over, and of course you have to get into the mud to harvest them. So there may have been a brief time when moms hated cat-tails. But before that, these were Mom's supermarket. Every part was food. Early sprouts and leaf bases, heart of the stalks, green flowers, pollen, and tuberous roots all had a place in the pot. This narrow leaved species started in Eurasia, or maybe also on our coasts, and has now expanded its range to every state except AK, AL, AZ, FL, GA, HI, TX, and UT, and into BC, MB, NB, NS, ON, PE, QC, and SK. Lenawee Co MI, 6/6/12. Cat-tail family, Typhaceae.