Common Cattail

Common Cattail

Typha latifolia L.

Typhaceae (Cattail Family)

▲ ▼ flowering plants along a marshy area

▲ inflorescence

▲ ▼ plants in winter, showing cottony fruit leaving flowering stems

Common Cattail:

perennial, emergent aquatic weed with rhizomes
long, thin, tough-textured, upright growing leaves arising from ground-level stem; leaves grow 3-6 tall
inflorescence a tall stalk with brown, velvety cylindrical structure near top, also 3-6' tall
found bordering ponds, in wetland areas, along ditches
two species common here--
- narrowleaf cattail
  - leaves 1/2" wide or less, tending to twist as they go up
  - inflorescences more slender than common cattail
- common cattail
  - leaves 1/2-1.5" wide
  - inflorescences usually 1" diameter or larger
Control: post-emergent, translocated herbicides; pulling, dredging; draining wet areas