What plant was a survival kit?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
December 3, 2002
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading—>Click here.
In 1597, John Gerard mentioned few utilitarian uses for the plant he called Cats Taile. "The Roots be hard, thicke, and white, full of strings, and good to burne, where there is plenty thereof to be had." There was an industry using cattails for he stated, "This Downe in some places of the Isle of Elie, and the low countries adjoining thereto, is gathered and well sold to make mattresses of, for plowmen and poore people." (The Herbal, 1633 ed.) It is probably safe to assume that at least in rural areas of Europe, cattail leaves were used for animal bedding and thatch.
In the Americas, cattails (Typha spp.) were a major utilitarian plant. Fibers run the length of the long, strap-like leaves. The internal tissue is aerenchyma (spongy, air-filled tissue); the waxy surface sheds water. The seed is housed in a membrane connected to a pappus (downy bristles).
Native peoples extracted the cattail fibers for cordage. The leaves with the air-filled tissue were insulating and woven into mats to cover floors and shelters (wigwams). The external mats kept rain and wind out. It was reported by colonists in the 1600s that the natives' wigwams were warmer than the colonists' houses.
Cattail leaves could be made into blankets, hats, bags, and watertight baskets. Stews and vegetables were cooked inside baskets by adding hot stones. (Indians of North America, Harold E. Driver, 1969) The downy bristles lined moccasins and infants' cradles. The mature inflorescences or seed heads soaked in animal fats made torches.
Frontiersmen and French trappers adopted many native uses of cattails. Wigwams could be broken down and set up at a new location in a matter of hours allowing hunters and trappers to follow game. Sleeping mats kept them off of the ground, shelter mats kept them warm and dry. The down added to boots and mittens prevented frostbite. And cattail torches continued to be used into the twentieth century.
NativeTech has interesting and informative pages on the uses of cattails. To learn more about weaving and constructing shelters using cattails, click on the link:
http://www.nativetech.org/cattail/cattail.htm
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
Where do marshmallows come from? Herbal Folklore - July 8, 2002
How are cattails used by wildlife? Renfield's Garden - December 4, 2002
What plant was a first-aid kit? Herbal Folklore - December 2, 2002
How did cattails become a nuisance? Weird Plants - December 5, 2002
What was nettle cloth? Plants that Changed History - June 10, 2003
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