Cattail

Sodium trichloroacetate [650-51-17, C2Cl202Na, is used as a herbicide for various grasses and cattails (2). The free acid has been used as an astringent, antiseptic, and polymerisation catalyst. The esters have antimicrobial activity. The oral toxicity of sodium trichloroacetate is quite low (LD q rats, 5.0 g/kg). Although very corrosive to skin, trichloroacetic acid does not have the skin absorption toxicity found with chloroacetic acid (28). 

Bangor Naval Submarine Base, on the Hood Canal in the State of Washington, provides fine recreational facilities for service people stationed there, as well as for civilian employees. A proposal to divert runoff from munitions-contaminated areas towards the recreational fishing pond, Cattail Lake, led to a decision to identify hazard levels for the compounds of interest. In addition to trout, there was concern over contamination of bivalves, such as oysters, cockles, and clams, at the pond s outlet to Hood Canal. Bioconcentration factors (BCFs), assumed applicable for both fish and bivalves, were developed for three compounds (Table III). BCFs, together with Uj. values and worst-case levels of fish or bivalve consumption (0.4 kg/day) provided PPLVs for the pond water, according to the equation... 

Cattail, Typha latifolia 0.5 shoreline colonies severely affected after exposure for 32 days 3... 

Shoots and roots of the common cattail (Typhia latifolia) and water sedge (Carex aquatilis) were collected and analyzed to examine the passage of arsenic into the plants. 

Concentrations of As are significantly greater in roots of cattails (<1200 mg/L dry weight (dw)) and sedges (<3000 mg/L dw) than in shoots, probably due to adhering soils and sediments, which contain <6800 mg/L As. Both cattails and sedge plants contain significant As in live (<138 mg/L) and dead (<235 mg/L) shoots. 

Narrowleaf Cattail Pollen 37 known compounds Tvohaceae (TYPHA ANGUSTIFOLIA L)... 

Cattail, Typha latifolia, whole Aquatic macrophytes 15-30 DW 8... 

Wetland remediation involves a combination of interactions including microbial adsorption of metals, metal bioaccumulation, bacterial oxidation of metals, and sulfate reduction (Fennessy Mitsch, 1989 Kleinmann Hedin, 1989). Sulfate reduction produces sulfides which in turn precipitate metals and reduce aqueous metal concentrations. The high organic matter content in wetland sediments provides the ideal environment for sulfate-reducing populations and for the precipitation of metal complexes. Some metal precipitation may also occur in response to the formation of carbonate minerals (Kleinmann Hedin, 1989). In addition to the aforementioned microbial activities, plants, including cattails, grasses, and mosses, serve as biofilters for metals (Brierley, Brierley Davidson, 1989). 

FIGURE 10 Release of C02 by compete photolytic degradation of sterile leachate from leaves of the cattail (Typha latifolia), grown under ambient atmospheric C02 and doubled C02 concentrations, after 1 week of microbial decomposition. 

Water (0-30 cm depth), sediment (0-3 cm depth cores), fish, duckweed, algae, and cattail shoots (portion of the plant above sediment) were collected once pre-treatment each year and at various time intervals up to 77 days post-treatment. All samples except water were stored at -50 C in sealed containers until analysis. 

Cattails contained 10 to 20 fold lower levels of (1 C)-fenitrothion than duckweed throughout the study. This difference probably reflects the greater surface area to volume ratio of the duckweeds. No differences between shaded and unshaded plants could be discerned. The large variability in the results compared to duckweed may be attributable to the difficulty in obtaining representative samples from the large... 

Recovery of radioactivity from cattail tissue by blending with methanol averaged only 23.7% in samples from 3, 7 and 14 days post-treatment indicating extensive breakdown of fenitrothion by the plant. The identity of the radioactivity was not determined. 

Occasionally Bob sees gases oozing from mist-covered swamps and the movement of reeds and cattails in some of the smaller marshes. In these algae-in-fested pools stand squidlike creatures of various sizes and colors. Everywhere is the smell of decay—the putrefaction of nearly liquid masses resembling the relucent remains of long-dead ruminants. By comparison, this stench made the stink of a cesspool seem like a new perfume by Chanel. 

Besides cattails, a few plants have been effectively used as torches and fuel for specialized lamps. The rushlight or rush candle is made from rushes common in wet fields or bogs. These plants have a tall pithy stem and few or no... 

Aldrich, D. (1971). Creating with Cattails, Cones and Pods. Hearthside Press Inc., Great Neck, NY. 

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