Cattails Redux

Chris Buchanan - UNT Integrative Studies Major

I am sitting on the edge of the pond that lies at the center of my Mandala. It is halfway through the third week in April. The sun is out, the sky is blue and clear on this warm, spring afternoon. The turtles are active today, swimming around the pond energetically, as they search for food. Tiny Gambusia fish are everywhere, feeding on insects and other nutrients that are floating on the surface of the pond. The Gambusia fish are very small, “minnow-size,” but their bellies are quite large and round, nearly doubling their size. Gambusia fish are commonly referred to as mosquito fish because they feed on the larvae of mosquitos.

Cattails on the pond; photo by author.

Directly in front of where I am sitting, a small cluster of cattail plants are sprouting out of the water, surrounded by a short protective fence. Cattails are commonly found, clustered together in small groups in up to 2 ft. of water, in marshes and other wetlands throughout most of the world. Cattails are a very invasive species and they reproduce by using the wind to spread their fluffy seeds, and rhizomes, across the environment. The rhizomes quickly produce new shoots that grow into thick stands. Cattails flower from May through July. Their tiny flowers do not have petals and they are arranged into densely packed, cylindrical, spikes. The spikes are separated into male and female sections. In the spring, the male spike will detach from the plant after it sheds its pollen. Beginning in early fall, the flower enlarges into the large cylindrical brown head that we so commonly use to identify the species. After this, the head pops open, allowing the wind, water, and the force of gravity to spread its’ seeds and begin the process all over again.