Plant Of The Day: CATTAILS- a maltiuse food staple

Cattails have been, and can be, the staple on ones diet and beyond. They grow in virtually all parts of North America, are extremely nutricious and delicious, and have food uses in all seasons. but their uses extenbd to various building uses and medical ones too. durring the spring time, the new shoots below a foot in hieght can be cooked up like asperigus or cut up like green onions and used that way. durring the summer, the seed heads that are green can be roasted/boiled similar to corn. haven't tryed this one though. The mature leaves can be used to weave baskets and a wide veriety of other items. Also, apparently it can be soaked in an oil excellerant and used as a torch. In the fall, the fluffy seed pod can be used to stuff pillows and similar uses in the way cotton is used. From late fall to early spring the lower part of the stalk and the root can be used as a starchy root veggie or dried and ground into a flower. a good reference is the peterson's field guide and i found some info on the net here and here.