Smoking Cattails

As kids, my friends and I would collect dried cattails, light the ends and pretend we were smoking cigars. The cattail would slowly burn and produce a steady stream of smoke.

End of summer cattail stand

Sometimes we would pick the cattails before they were thoroughly dry. We would lay them out on the roof of a metal shed allowing the sun to beat down on them. The heat off the metal roof quickened the drying process. At times we would get impatient and try unsuccessfully to light the "green" cattails.  

Cattails can be burned to deter mosquitoes

One day we thought we could bypass the complete drying process by adding an accelerate to the cattail. We found an old lawnmower next to a barn and dipped the cattails into the gas tank. After several attempts, we were successful in lighting our “cigars” and proudly raised them - flames and all - in a celebratory toast to our success.

Muskrats feed on the shoots of cattails

It was then that I saw my mother speed walking in our direction. A neighbor had been watching and called her. I never saw my mother walk so fast or look so angry. My friends scattered leaving me there alone as I waited her approach and reprimand. 

I received one of the harshest scolding’s in my life. I stood in fear as I listened to her shout and flail her arms about. Her face grew redder and redder. I was in trouble, big trouble. After all, I was playing with matches and gasoline next to an old wooden barn. Throughout her scolding she painted a vivid picture of roaring flames, screaming children and hundreds of fire trucks. Later that day, I had difficulty sitting down due to a whole different kind of burning sensation.

 Hundreds of seedlings are released when shaken

Slowly burning cattails can act as an effective mosquito deterrent. Young cattail shoots are desirable food for muskrats and humans. The leaves can be used to weave mats. Birds like the red-winged blackbird nest in the thick clusters of leaves and stems.

 

The largest stand of cattails in Onondaga County is in the Hamlin Wildlife Management Area in the town of Clay.

The well-dried out puffy looking cattails will “explode” with hundreds of seedlings when shaken or pounded upon.