Editing Typha (section)

===Culinary===
Many parts of the ''Typha'' plant are edible to humans. Before the plant flowers, the tender inside of the [[Shoot (botany)|shoot]]s can be squeezed out and eaten raw or cooked.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nyerges |first1=Christopher |title=Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles |date=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-1499-6 |page=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwDHCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP38}}</ref> The starchy [[rhizome]]s are nutritious with a protein content comparable to that of maize or rice.<ref name=Morton>{{cite journal|last=Morton|first=J. F.|title=Cattails (''Typha'' spp.) – Weed Problem or Potential Crop?|journal=Economic Botany|date=January–March 1975|volume=29|issue=1|pages=7–29|doi=10.1007/bf02861252|bibcode=1975EcBot..29....7M |s2cid=20072085}}</ref> They can be processed into a [[flour]] with 266 [[calorie|kcal]] per 100 grams,<ref name="Revedin"/> and are most often harvested from late autumn to early spring. They are fibrous, and the starch must be scraped or sucked from the tough fibers.<ref name=nova/> Baby shoots emerging from the rhizomes, which are sometimes subterranean, can be picked and eaten raw. Also underground is a [[carbohydrate]] lump which can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked like a [[potato]].<ref name=Nyerges40>{{cite book |last1=Nyerges |first1=Christopher |title=Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles |date=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-1499-6 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwDHCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP40}}</ref> The plant is one championed by survival experts because various parts can be eaten throughout the year. Plants growing in polluted water can accumulate [[lead]] and [[pesticide]] residues in their rhizomes, and these should not be eaten.<ref name=nova>{{cite book|last=Gore|first=A. B.|title=Environmental Research at the Leading Edge|year=2007|publisher=[[Nova Science Publishers, Inc.]]|location=New York|pages=106}}</ref>

The rind of young stems can be peeled off, and the tender white heart inside can be eaten raw or boiled and eaten like [[asparagus]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Angier|first=Bradford|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoedib00angi/page/50/mode/2up|title=Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=1974|isbn=0-8117-0616-8|location=Harrisburg, PA|pages=50|oclc=799792|author-link=Bradford Angier}}</ref> This food has been popular among the [[Cossacks]] in Russia, and has been called "Cossack asparagus".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Marsh|first=L. C.|title=The Cattail Story|journal=The Garden Journal|year=1959|volume=5|pages=114–129}}</ref>  The leaf bases can be eaten raw or cooked, especially in late spring when they are young and tender. In early summer the sheath can be removed from the developing green flower spike, which can then be boiled and eaten like [[corn on the cob]].<ref>{{cite book |last1= Elias |first1= T. S. |last2=Dykeman |first2=P. A. |title= Edible Wild Plants |year=2009 |orig-year= 1982 |publisher= Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1-4027-6715-9 |pages=69–70 }}</ref> In mid-summer when the male flowers are mature, the [[pollen]] can be collected and used as a flour supplement or thickener; the Māori of New Zealand have a special bread called ''pungapunga'' made from the pollen of ''[[Typha orientalis|T. orientalis]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neill |first1=Lindsay |last2=Sturny |first2=Arno |title=Pāraoa Rēwena: The Relegation of Aotearoa New Zealand's Indigenous Bread |journal=Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies |date=Aug 2022 |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=65 |doi=10.11157/sites-id505}}</ref><ref>[http://tpo.tepapa.govt.nz/mainmenu_english.asp Raupo or Bulrush (''Typha orientalis'').] Tai Awatea. Accessed 15 December 2011.</ref>