cat-tail the most usual common name for bulrushes of the genus Typha, which occur in temperate regions round the world and provide a surprisingly large variety of foodstuffs. Typha comes from the Greek word for a cat’s tail, referring to the seed stalk, not the long tapering leaves.
In N. America T. latifolia is the main species. Fernald and Kinsey (1943) cite impressive testimonials from early writers to the food value of the rootstocks, when well filled with starch in the autumn and winter, and refer also to notable experiments carried out at Yale. These showed that mice throve on ‘cat-tail flour’; and it seems that similar results were obtained when, ‘as a check, Yale students substituted for the mice’. However, other parts of the plant also provide food. In the south-western states, Indians regarded the young flowering spikes, excepting the tough core, as a delicacy, whether raw or cooked. Fernald and Kinsey, full of enthusiasm, say that the flavour and consistency are somewhat suggestive of both olives and French artichokes.
