Go ahead and nibble at the tender, white base. You can even dry their spikes to make torches and weave baskets out of their fibers. If it is tick season, you should definitely avoid going barefoot. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! This weekend we used the gel on my daughter's cut, and you can also use it to soothe sunburned skin. To harvest the pollen, bend the cattail head into a paper bag and shake. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Take the dried leaves and … Unfortunately, if you eat cattails for very long, they must be harvested from a completely unpolluted location. Sometimes you will even see a small drip of resin form on certain buds. ", Now if you could only have included a section about what part of the cattail is edible...", http://www.ediblewildfood.com/cattail.aspx, http://www.eattheweeds.com/cattails-a-survival-dinner/, http://www.offthegridnews.com/extreme-survival/cattails-how-to-safely-harvest-and-eat-natures-4-seasons-survival-plant/, https://holeinthefence.net/tag/edible-parts-of-a-cattail/, http://www.wolfcollege.com/the-most-important-plant-cattails-video-of-finding-harvesting-transplanting-cooking-cattails/, https://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/16/cattail-army-deployed-to-fight-water-pollution/, http://tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-eat-cattail.htm, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Harvest-ing at various times provides more variety. Harvesting Cattails sustainably No matter where you harvest it is always important to treat the land with respect and leave it better than you found it. Lauren Kurtz is a Naturalist and Horticultural Specialist. The Typha genus, which is in its own family and order, has its closest relative as the sedge order which includes grasses, which I discussed in Part 1 of this essay. Pull straight up so you get the whole plant. This article has been viewed 11,416 times. Cattails have 2 Native Americans used crushed rhizomes as a poultice to treat burns, cuts, sores, etc. Lauren Kurtz is a Naturalist and Horticultural Specialist. Harvesting and Drying Harvesting Flowers or leaves for drying can be collected through-out the growing season. Harvesting Cattails. Yes, those distinctive plants growing alongside the water’s edge can easily be harvested, providing a source of vitamins and starch to your diet all year round. Wash thoroughly and submerge in water - let sit until a gel forms. A risk of going barefoot is cutting your feet on bottles, rocks or other sharp objects. Rare Flowers can be used to craft Re-Fertilizer, Lesser Antidote and Exceptional Kibble. From a survival food standpoint, the best parts of a cattail to harvest include the spikes (the emerging plant) in early spring, the spike-shaped shoots throughout spring and early summer, the yellow, pollen-covered heads at the top of the plant mid-spring, and the roots (although the roots are better and bigger as they mature into winter). Well, because it has a numbing effect on moist tissues and has been used as an anesthetic by the pioneers. Virtually all parts of the cattail plant are edible at some point of the year. The best yield is just before the flowers begin to develop. After the small bits of root sit in the water for at least five minutes, the starch will settle to the bottom. Carefully and slowly pour off the water. Fermented Cattail Shoots are such a treat! Sign up for our newsletter. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. X Below are my essential practices for sustainable harvesting. Also, 2 Rare Flowers are needed for cooking the Battle Tartare and 20 are needed for Mindwipe Tonicdishes. Kimmerer writes, “The cattails make the gel as a defense against microbes and to keep the leaf bases moist when water levels drop.” Cattails (Typha) are one of the best survival foods. On a different note, this gel is the only part of the cattail that is widely considered to be inedible. Harvesting by hand will get you one. The roots are edible, but require separating the starch from the fibers to make them edible. Now, very little research has been done on cattails as a crop, and those results were from harvesting the roots in established bogs. Don’t eat cattails that were planted for the purpose of remediating contaminated wetlands. It’s not poisonous…so why? Cattails are a 4 season plant which means you don’t have to wait for the right time of year to harvest it. Winter. Native Americans used crushed rhizomes as a poultice to treat burns, cuts, sores, etc. If you are foraging for cattails to eat, you should avoid collecting them from heavily polluted roadsides, as well as bioswales and other areas that are likely contaminated. Well, because it has a numbing effect on moist tissues and has been used as an anesthetic by the pioneers. She earned a BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies from Western Michigan University in 2014. Use your sickle to harvest the Cattails and you should get around 4 per swing. In addition to harvesting cattails for food, they have many other uses. These can be explored to obtain the Rupu Gel which is a very useful resource. In the winter, all the life in the cattail goes down into the roots. Read on to learn more about what cattails are used for. "I learned several things about cattails that were very useful. For a nice tightly woven mat, dry leaves first and then rehydrate them when you are ready to weave. Next time you pass some of those wild cattails blowing in the wind, remember all of the things cattails are used for and how easy harvesting wild cattails can be. When harvesting the buds I put them directly in to a mason jar. It is always ready with something that is useful. Last Updated: November 2, 2020 The lower part of the stem is white and, when eaten raw, tastes like cucumber. Cattail Leaves. Avoid harvesting cattails from polluted areas. This article was co-authored by Lauren Kurtz. You should avoid eating these cattails, since they will have accumulated toxins. You will notice when you’re picking the shoots and peeling off the layers that there is a gelatinous substance. Cattail plants produce the gel to protect themselves against microbes and to keep themselves moist during droughts. It asks you to slow down from the rushed pace of the modern world and step into timelessness. Cattail pollen capsules, known as Pu Huang, are a popular remedy for nosebleeds, uterine bleeding and blood in the urine. Rupu Gel. The pollen can be removed from the stalk simply by shaking into a paper bag and using it as a thickener to soups and stews. There is another lone plant which is surprisingly versatile, and its name is Cattail. When you encounter Rupu Camps some of them will have a tower looking structure in them. Cattail’s biggest claim to ‘almost’ fame came toward the end of World War Two according to legend. If you go barefoot, you could easily sprain your ankle on one of the plants. Since this is powerful medicine, it should not to be used during pregnancy. Don’t eat cattails that are collected from bioswales. The leaves, when cut, dried and resoaked, can be used for mats, baskets, hats or ponchos. They are extremely productive in terms of flour production, with one acre of cattails potentially producing 6,475 pounds of flour. Rupu Vines. connection have happened while harvesting cattail roots and picking nettle leaves. Lauren has worked for Aurora, Colorado managing the Water-Wise Garden at Aurora Municipal Center for the Water Conservation Department. The roots can be harvested year-round, but are best in the fall and winter. By tugging with firm, even, pressure, you can coax the leaf to slide out of its holster. If you are starting from scratch then remember the look-a-like rule? Avoid picking cattails from ponds in urban or suburban developments. Harvesting and Storage. Do not eat unwashed cattail. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/.../cattails/harvesting-wild-cattails.htm Always ask for permission before harvesting cattail on someone's private property. This is also edible and can be used for thickening soups, as well as being an analgesic and antiseptic medicinal. X This article has been viewed 11,416 times. Cattail. Break open a cattail leaf, as you would the leaf of an aloe plant, and use the cool gel inside as a natural antiseptic cream. So you’ll have starchy roots, but dried up, yellow stalks. [1] Cattails are increasingly used for the purpose of cleaning contaminated wetlands, such as areas where there is industrial pollution and dangerous chemicals like arsenic. If you are harvesting the cattails to make rope, however, it is fine to collect them from these areas. When they were hit with a ravaging toothache, they would just go get their jar of cattail ooze and rub it around their gums. To harvest leaves from a Palm tree simply hit it with a Hatchet or an Axe. Cattail: Learn How to Harvest and Utilize This Wild Aquatic Plant During the Best and Worst of Times One of the most common wild plants found throughout the world, cattail is astoundingly versatile. (the white pith of the cattail shoot is edible, similar to hearts of palm. Use the leaves and gell to make a poultice and apply it to bruises, burns, stings, and other mild wounds. By using our site, you agree to our. A clear gel is found between the tightly bound leaves of cattail. Make sure to harvest ethically from a clean water source) To harvest starch from a cattail plant, clean the exterior roots and then mince or crush them, before putting them in clean water. Timing: generally December - March. References. The reason is that it bio-accumulates toxins, which is why you will see it planted in bio-swales, or ponds which are designed to accumulate run-off from developments. So much so that it can make the difference between life and death if lost in the wilderness or when food is in short supply. % of people told us that this article helped them. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. 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