#WildernessWednesday: I took a walk to Star Fort Pond at #NinetySixNHS the other week. Growing along the edge I found some cattails. Native to the United States they are easy to identify. They are water plants that grown along the edges of marshes, ponds, and anywhere where there is a constant, shallow, still water source. They can spread through their roots or by seeds and grow up to ten feet tall. The two most common species are the typha lotifolia and the typha angustifolia. The root words are Greek, “typha” meaning marsh, “lotifolia” meaning wide leaf, and “angustfolia” meaning skinny leaf. The cattail is an amazing plant that acted like a supermarket for the Native Americans, providing them with food, shelter, clothing, a medicine. Year round the root could be dug up for food and other parts could be eaten seasonally. Many of the same parts that supplied food also supplied medicines and bandages. Insulation for objects like shoes was provided by the down like fluff that forms on the seed head. The stalk and the leaves when woven together made mats, hats, baskets, and even shelter.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:00:01 +0000
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