Identifying Cattails
Cattails are thickly rooted with leaf blades that are long and strap-like flat, about 1" wide and rounded on the back. The slender stalks range between 3' and 10' tall and are topped by a cigar-shaped "cattail" call a catkin.
The catkin fruit, or seedhead, is green during early summer and turns brown and fuzzy in the fall and following spring. The cylindrical flowerspike catkin can be more than a foot long resembling a hot dog, making the cattail easily distinguishable from similar plants.
Where To Find Cattails
