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Broadleaf Cattail

Typha latifolia

Found in fresh waters of ponds, lakes, ditches, marshes, including in tidal freshwater marshes. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

54
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
5–10 feet
Spread
4–6 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water

Space about 5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 4 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Late spring
Fruiting season
June to November

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 59 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 85 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Typha

  • Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
  • Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
  • Bellura densaPickerel Weed Border Moth, Pickerelweed Diver
  • Bellura gortynoidesWhite-Tailed Diver
  • Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
  • Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Dicymolomia julianalisJulia's Dicymolomia
  • Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
  • Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
Show all 18
  • Globia oblongaOblong Sedge Borer Moth, Large Noagria
  • Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
  • Limnaecia phragmitellaShy Cosmet, Cattail Moth
  • Orthosia rubescensRuby Quaker
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Bactra maiorina
  • Bellura brehmei
  • Chionodes rabula
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Typha

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Typha

  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Typhaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–10b
Flower color
Brown/copper or yellow
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
November

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “Late spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Flower color · “Brown/copper or yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 3a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “5–10 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
  • Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
  • Spread · “4–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Broad Leaf Cat Tail; Common Cat Tail

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads aggressively. Spreads aggressively by creeping rhizomes to form dense colonies and may self seed. Tennessee Smart Yards

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources