Distribution and Habitat: Narrow-leaved cattail is native to Europe and is now widely distributed in the eastern and northern United States. The plant can be found on wet or saturated soils growing within aquatic sediments in wet meadows, marshes, lakeshores, bogs, river banks, and along slow moving streams.

Cattails are usually found in a dense stand (many together) in up to 2 ft. of water in marshes and other wetlands throughout most of the world. Cattails adapt in a variety of interesting ways: They can live in fresh or somewhat brackish water, and can live in up to 2 feet of water or grow in floating mats.

Narrowleaf cattail is considered non-native, and was likely introduced to the east coast of the United States and Canada from Europe during the mid1800s. Though it is non-native, narrowleaf cattail has not shown invasive characteristics.

Generally, Narrow-Leaved Cattail has narrow green leaves (up to ½” across) and pistillate spikes that are up to ¾” across and 1′ long. Its pistillate spike and staminate spike are separated from each other by at least ½” (usually a few inches).

cattail, (genus Typha), genus of about 30 species of tall reedy marsh plants (family Typhaceae), found mainly in temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The plants inhabit fresh to slightly brackish waters and are considered aquatic or semi-aquatic.

These nonnative cattails have been documented for invasiveness in many parts of the country and currently have a limited distribution in Washington, although recorded occurrences are increasing.

Form dense colonies in any area where the soil remains wet or flooded during the growing season, including wetlands, marshes, bogs, ditches, ponds and shorelines. Common cattails grow mainly in fresh water, while narrow-leaved cattails range into brackish waters.

​Illegal cutting Although the department has the authority to maintain vegetation along state trunk highways, it is illegal for the public to cut vegetation, remove plants or plant parts, or injure trees along the right of way under SS.

Not extinct
Cattail/Extinction status

“The standard or traditional cattail (Typha latifolia) can be so invasive that you don’t want it around,” said Bill Bonwell, owner of the Stony Mountain Nursery in Louisa County.

Common Name: Southern cattail

Cattails can be desirable in a pond. They provide important wildlife habitat, shelter for birds, food and cover for fish and for the insects they eat. Cattails help protect the banks of a pond from erosion. New research shows that cattails can also remove polluting materials from the water surrounding their roots.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: The common cattail is a native, opportunistic North American wetland species. The narrow-leaved cattail is possibly an exotic or hybrid.

Broad-leaved Cattail ( Typha latifolia ): Grows to 3 feet or taller along shorelines of marshes, lakeshores, river backwaters, and road ditches and seeds. Rhizomes produce shoots in the fall that begin to sprout in the spring once sunlight can reach the soil. Seeds will germinate on exposed mudflats.

only the east-central US coast and central California. Broadleaf cattail and southern cattail cooccur in a broad area of the southwestern United States and the extreme southern United States. Broadleaf cattail and narrow-leaved cattail distribution overlaps are more common and cover a broad area of the central and eastern United States

Of the two species of cattail that exist in Wisconsin, common cattail is taller and generally more robust than the narrow-leaved variety. Observation of the flower spike also helps distinguish the two species.