RESOURSE GUARDIANSHIP (BULLRUSH)

BULLRUSH

NAME

Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats. These plants are known in British English as bulrush, bullrush, or reedmace in American English as cattail, punks, or corndog grass, in Australia as cumbungi or bulrush, and in New Zealand as raupo. Typha should not be confused with other plantsTypha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae.

^DESCRIPTION

Typha leaves are alternate and mostly basal to a simple, joint less stem that eventually bears the flowering spikes. The rhizomes spread horizontally beneath the surface of muddy ground to start new upright growth, and the spread of Typha is an important part of the process of open water bodies being converted to vegetated marshland and eventually dry land.

Typha plants are monoecious and bear unisexual, wind-pollinated flowers, developing in dense spikes. The numerous male flowers form a narrow spike at the top of the vertical stem. Each male (staminate) flower is reduced to a pair of stamens and hairs, and withers once the pollen is shed. The very large numbers of tiny female flowers form a dense, sausage-shaped spike on the stem below the male spike — in larger species this can be up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 1 to 4 centimetres (0.39 to 1.6 in) thick. Seeds are minute, 0.2 millimetres (0.0079 in) long, and attached to a fine hair. When ripe the heads disintegrate into dense cottony fluff, from which the seeds disperse by wind. Typha is often among the first wetland plants to colonize areas of newly exposed wet mud; it also spreads by rhizomes, forming dense stands often to the exclusion of other plants.

SPECIES

The most widespread species is Typha latifolia, extending across the entire temperate northern hemisphere. T. angustifolia is nearly as widespread, but does not extend so far north; some believe it is introduced and invasive in North America. T. domingensis is a more southerly American and Australian species, extending from the U.S. to South America. T. orientalis is widespread in eastern & northern Australia, temperate & tropical Asia, New Zealand. T. laxmannii, T. minima, and T. shuttleworthii are largely restricted to Asia and parts of southern Europe. Typha latifolia has also been recently introduced into fresh water creeks and lakes in Australia where the water is shallow and contains levels of dirty, turbid water. It affects the flow of the water and also filters the water and catches floating or submerged items, possibly damming the water flow.

Typha plants grow along lake margins and in marshes, often in dense colonies, and are sometimes considered a weed in managed wetlands. The plant's root systems help prevent erosion, and the plants themselves are often home to many insects, birds and amphibians.

^{EDBILE USES}

Typha has a wide variety of parts that are edible to humans. The rhizomes, underground lateral stems, are a pleasant nutritious and energy-rich food source that when processed into flour contains 266 kcal per 100 g. They 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. The bases of the leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, in late spring when they are young and tender.^IIn early summer the sheath can be removed from the developing green flower spike which can  than  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. Typha has also recently been suggested as a source of oil. However, the plant's airborne seeds have also been known to create skin irritation and can trigger asthma.

^{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. One Native American word for Typha meant "fruit for papoose's bed". Today some people still use Typha down to stuff clothing items and pillows When using Typha for pillow stuffing, dense batting material is used, as the fluff may cause a skin reaction similar to urticaria.
Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Monocots (unranked): Commelinids Order: Poales Family: Typhaceae Genus: