The name bulrush is rather confusing. It can refer to the cattail or cat's tail. The bulrush of the Bible was actually the papyrus plant of Egypt. In North America, it is the name often given by some people to the common or broad-leaved cattail. The true bulrush is a rush as described below. True Bulrush           More properly, the true bulrush is the rush with the Latin name 'scirpus lacustris' . It has a round stem that holds a female catkin, high above the leaves. The female catkin becomes the seed head. The bulrush flowers in August with a dense, branching brown head. The male flower or catkin grows above the female flower and then drops off when the pollen is gone. Unlike soft rush, the soft seeds are held in clusters beside the stems. The leaves of the bulrush are dark green and slender, almost needlelike. The bulrush grows to be from 0.9 m to 1.5 m tall. It is often found in the same pond as the cattail.

Broad-leaved Cattails (Bulrush)           Broad-leaved or common cattails grow in shallow water. They are easily recognized by their brownish cylindrical flowers and seeds. The male flower, as in the burreed, grows above the female flower on the stem. The two flower types grow on the same stem. The male flower looks like a brownish, loose club. When the male flower has given off its pollen it falls off, leaving a bare spike above the female fruit body. The whole flower body, male and female, can be 15 cm long.
          The broad-leaved cattail has long, flat leaves which are 2.4 cm wide. They grow taller than the flowers and are joined in a tight sheath to the sturdy stalk that holds the flower. The common cattail grows from 0.9 m to 2.7 m tall.
          The roots of the cattail are thick and starchy. Indians ground the root stock into meal that was used for food. They also ate the young shoots much like we eat asparagus today. Newly formed (immature) flower spikes can be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob. The sprouts at the end of the root stocks can be boiled and eaten as greens. The cattail is truly an edible plant. Birds, such as the red-winged blackbird, eat the seeds and like to rest among the cattails. Muskrats eat the whole plant.