Talk:Typha

Japanese people
Why would you tease and/or rub a cat with a cattail...?? Because the cat smells bad like a skunk — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kevdog9 (talk • contribs) 19:02, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Perennial or Annual?
Will my beautiful cattails return next year? 216.199.161.66 22:46, 1 December 2006 (UTC) They should because I live near cattails and they generally become brown in the winter and spread their seeds, but you should probably help them by breaking the cattail and spread the seeds on the inside.69.1.20.100 00:53, 12 December 2006 (UTC)Jopo

Indians are mentioned excessively
Is it necessary to include comments about Indians on this page and on other pages devoted to plants? There used to be a heap of different tribes. Some Indians never saw a cattail because those Indians lived in deserts. All Indians used plants in various ways just as did all people in every location on earth. It is unnecessary to guess about what Indians did with the plants that they used. The practice of including a blurb about what "Native Americans" (supposedly) did should be dropped. Velocicaptor 00:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
 * It's no different than talking about what "Europeans" used a particular plant for. In this particular case, it should be possible to verify the stated uses, if artifacts or documentation of such artifacts can be presented from the published literature.  It should also be possible to (from such an artifact) tie the use to a particular tribe and/or region.  Just because the information is not as precise as it could be doesn't mean it should be removed; it should be improved.  --EncycloPetey (talk) 22:29, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Food and drink Tagging
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Cat tail?
I was looking for informations about a cat's tail, but "Cat tail" redirects to this page. It looks like "cattail" is an alternative work for the typha in the united states (I'm from Canada), but I'm not sure the redirect is okay. I would redirect "Cat Tail" to either "Cat" (since it has some informations about it, but not much) or "Tail_(anatomy)". I'd be bold, but I'll wait some time to see what people think. 69.196.138.218 (talk) 03:52, 26 July 2008 (UTC)


 * It can't be redirected to either Cat or Tail, because then users wanting "cat-tail" would be misdirected. If confusion is likely, make a disambiguation page for Cat tail with lines for cat, tail, and Typha.  Richard New Forest (talk) 10:32, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Cattail vs Bullrush in Canada?
Apparently "cattail" is the US term and "bullrush" the British term. I live in Montreal and use "bullrush". Do all Canadians use "bullrush", or are there regional differences within Canada? —Preceding unsigned comment added by AlexPlante (talk • contribs) 11:37, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Fixing stupidity
While somewhat amusing, the current version (specifically the "sensual uses" section) doesn't help. Would someone with a bit more knowhow than I please revert the page back to a previous version? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.94.186.20 (talk) 15:43, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Edit: the 01:12, 27 August 2010 220.255.7.151 (talk) (8,740 bytes) (→Edible uses) Version seems good. I just don't know how to put it back to that.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.94.186.20 (talk)


 * Done. (Just open the correct version for editing, then save without changing it – but be careful there have not been genuine edits since the vandalism. By the way, don't forget to sign your comments with the four tildes: ~ .)  Richard New Forest (talk) 20:09, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

removed this species as name changed Typha orientalis (syn., T. muelleri) --Grapeman4 (talk) 09:36, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Typhus
The genus' orignal name (Typhus) should probably be included somewhere. --Pablo.ea.92 (talk) 14:49, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

= Additional information on uses of Typha =

I added some information in the section Uses. I will paste a copy of my changes in this Talk section. Like this I can get a review before I acctually upload to the main page.--Siebemat (talk) 22:06, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Culinary uses
Typha has a wide variety of parts that are edible to humans. The rhizomes, underground lateral stems, are a nutritious and energy-rich food source.The content of protein is comparable to the one of maize or rice. When processed into flour contains 266 kcal per 100 g. The rhizomes are generally harvested from late autumn to early spring. These are starchy, but also fibrous, so the starch must be scraped or sucked from the tough fibers. If the plants grow in polluted water the rhizomes can accumulate lead or residues of pesticides and should not be eaten.

The outer portion of young plants can be peeled and the heart can be eaten raw or boiled and eaten like asparagus. This portion of Typha has often been called the ”Cossack asparagus”, as it has been of great popularity with the Cossacks in Russia. The bases of the leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, in late spring when they are young and tender. In early summer the sheath can be removed from the developing green flower spike which can then be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob. In mid-summer, once the male flowers are mature, the pollen can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener.

The seeds have a high lineoleic content and are considered suitable to feed cattle and chicken.

Starch grains have been found on grinding stones widely across Europe from 30,000 BC suggesting that Typha plants were a widely used Upper Paleolithic food.

Building material
Around the Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, Typha has been used to construct rafts and boats. For the local tribes, Typha was one of the most important plants and every part of the plant had multiple uses.

During World War II, the United States Navy used the down of Typha as a substitute for kapok in life vests and aviation jackets. Tests showed that even after 100 hours of submersion the buoyancy was still warranted.

Typha is used as material for thermal insulation in buildings, as an organic alternative to conventional insulating materials like glass wool or stone wool.

Paper
Typha stems and leaves can be used to make paper. The paper is strong with a heavy texture and hard to bleach. Therefore it is not very suitable for industrial production of graphical paper. In 1853 considerable amounts of cattail paper were produced in New York, due to a shortage of raw materials. In 1948 French scientists tested methods for annual harvesting of the leaves. Because of the high cost these methods where abandoned and no further research was done. Today paper from Typha is merely used as an expensive decorative paper.

Fiber
Fibers with a length of 2 - 4 metres can be obtained from the stems, when mechanically or chemically treated with sodium hydroxide. The fibers resemble jute and can be used to produce raw textiles. The fibers in the leaves can be used as an alternative to cotton and line in clothing. The yield of leaf fibers is 30 - 40 percent and Typha glauca, can produce 7 – 10 tons per hectare annually.

Biofuel
Typha can be used as a source of starch to produce ethanol. Because of their high productivity in northern latitudes, Typha is considered as a bio-energy crop. They have the advantage that they grow in wetlands, do not require much maintenance and don’t compete with food crops.

Other uses
The disintegrating heads are used by some birds to line their nests. The downy material was also used by some Native American tribes as tinder for starting fires.

Some Native American tribes also used Typha down to line moccasins, and for bedding, diapers, baby powder, and papoose boards (Cradle boards). One Native American word for Typha meant "fruit for papoose's bed". Some people still use Typha down to stuff clothing items and pillows.

Typha can be dipped in wax or fat and then lit as a candle, the stem serving as a wick. It can also be lit without the use of wax or fat, and it will smolder slowly, somewhat like incense, and may repel insects.

One informal experiment has indicated that Typha is able to remove the poisonous element arsenic from drinking water. Such a filtration system may be one way to provide cheap water filtration for people in developing nations.

The boiled rootstocks have been used as a diuretic for increasing urination, or used mashed to make a jelly-like paste for sores, boils, wounds, burns, scabs, and smallpox pustules.

--Siebemat (talk) 22:06, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Class rating
This article is rated as "B-class" by three different projects (possibly with some bot assistance), and needs work to actually qualify for this rating according to WikiProject assessment. --- Otr500 (talk) 11:01, 20 March 2017 (UTC)

Wild Corn Dog
Is it worth mentioning this as a commonly used name? most people I've ever met call them that off the top of their head, I even use that to google them when I forget the proper name. It would help this article show up in that google search too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by LargeAngryGoose (talk • contribs) 18:36, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

"Forbidden hot dog" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forbidden_hot_dog&redirect=no Forbidden hot dog] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Questions? four Olifanofmrtennant (she/her) 18:16, 16 May 2024 (UTC)