Cattails

Have you ever taken a cattail home? Placed it in a vase or dried flower arrangement?

I did; one autumn. The following spring I woke up to a livingroom full of floating fluff as the cattails let loose their seed.

Cattails are really a very versatile plant. They will populate any naked dirt in a wetland ahead of most other plants. Native Americans knew the value of the plant; flour from the roots, lining everything from moccosins to papoose carriers with the downy seed. Some people are even thinking that the plant might be a good source of biofuel.

Muskrats and other animals love to eat cattails and muskrats use the plant for their houses.

From now on though, I'll leave them where they stand. No more exploding dried flower arrangements....