• CATTAILS

    by Zach, Ryan, Lucy and Andrew C.

    Cattails


    The flowers of the cattail plants look like a rusty pipe on a long stalk with a sharp needle at the top. Cattails can grow right out of the water. The leaves are thin, long, flat leaves. They are as tall as the cattail. Native Americans cooked edible cattail roots as a tasty food. In the winter it grows up to 5-6 feet tall. In the summer it grows up to 6-11 feet tall. Cattails let their seeds go in the fall. Cattails release their seeds by blowing up their flower. When the cattails blow up their flower, the flower does not make any sound. It is a salt marsh plant and a native plant. Cattails are common in coastal California in fresh, shallow water. Bunches of cattails provide shelter for birds and other animals.