cattail (redirected from cat's tail)

cattail or reed mace, any plant of the genus Typha, perennial herbs found in almost all open marshes. The cattail (also called club rush) has long narrow leaves, sometimes used for weaving chair seats, and a single tall stem bearing two sets of tiny flowers, the male flowers above the female. The pollinated female flowers form the familiar cylindrical spike of fuzzy brown fruits; the male flowers drop off and leave a naked stalk tip. The starchy rootstock can be used for food. Cattails are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Typhales, family Typhaceae.

---

cattail

Any of the tall reedy marsh plants (see reed) that bear brown, furry fruiting spikes and make up the genus Typha (family Typhaceae), particularly T. latifolia, the long flat leaves of which are used especially for making mats and chair seats. Cattails are found mainly in temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Important to wildlife, they are also often cultivated ornamentally as pond plants and for dried-flower arrangements. The leaves, which swell when wet, are used for caulking cracks in barrels and boats.

---

cattail

used by da Vinci as symbol of humility. [Plant Symbol-ism: Embolden, 25]

See : Humility