Typha angustifolia

Narrow-leaved cattail ( Typha angustifolia)

The Narrow-leaved cattail ( Typha angustifolia) is a plant species in the family of cattail plants ( Typhaceae ).

Description

The Narrow-leaved cattail is a perennial, herbaceous plant that reaches the stature heights of 1 to 2 meters. The underground offshoots of the plant are about 1 cm thick, usually only short horizontal crawling and then erected. The stems are leafy. The leaves are (3 to ) 5 to 8 (up to 10 ) mm wide. The blade sections have nine distinct and two to four smaller randliche air chambers.

The male flowers are equipped with Perigonhaaren. Male and female flowers are separated by a piston (1.5 to ) 2.5 to 3.5 cm long flowerless section. The female pistons are 2.5 to 4 cm long and dark brown. The male piston at the top of the plant are two to three times as long.

Ecology

The silting pioneer has mostly short underground runners that serve the vegetative propagation. Its flowers are proterogyn, anemogam and self-fertile. The male flowers are open until three days after the female flowers; until there is no cross-pollination occurs, it may cause self -pollination.

Locations

You meet this species quite rare on the banks or in ditches, mostly standing in the reeds or slow-flowing, warm, often calcium deficiency waters over mud humus rich soil. After Ellenberg it is a light plant, a water change hands, a weak acid to weak base pointer, nitrogen-rich sites preferring salt ertragend and a Verbandscharakterart the Still Water reed beds in freshwater ( Phragmition australis). As a pioneer silting it often forms pure stocks, but still occasionally overlooked because often outweigh the non-flowering specimens.

Use

Food

The rhizomes can be cooked and eaten like potatoes similar. It can be harvested on one hectare of ten times the amount of rhizomes, as there would grow potatoes (about 350 tonnes of fresh rhizomes). The rhizomes yield a flour, which is well suited for baked goods. Dried rhizomes consist of 46 % starch and sugar and at least 20 % fibers. Cattail flour contains more fat than corn, rice, wheat and potato flour. It contains more minerals and carbohydrates as potato flour and more protein than corn and rice. Furthermore, young shoots, Mark, flowers and pollen are edible.

Textiles

The leaves contain about 25 - 35 % fibers. Through a chemical-technical separation, these can be obtained. They were used for Mölbelstopfen, burlap and coarser yarns. They can be compared with linen, hemp, sisal and jute. You should be able to win about 10 tons of fiber per hectare.

Technical treatment

From Cattails can produce paper. Furthermore, one can produce fiberboard, pulp, fodder, litter and ethyl alcohol also made ​​of fiber- rich parts ( leaves and stems ). From the rhizomes also ethyl alcohol can be produced.

Other uses

The cattail fluff can be used used as Kapokersatz. The oil from the seeds is suitable both as cooking oil and as a raw material for industrial uses. The type is used for the decorative design of riverside areas as an ornamental plant. The seeds are an excellent scale and were used in ancient times to the lighting of a fire.

Documents

• E. Oberdorfer: Phytosociological Exkursionsflora for Germany and adjacent areas
• H. Ellenberg: vegetation of Central Europe with the Alps, 5th edition, ISBN 3-8252-8104-3.