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Southern Cattail

Typha domingensis

Found in brackish to nearly fresh waters of marshes and swamps, usually tidal. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

54
Strong

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

Profile 82%

Height
Up to about 12 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Fruiting season
July to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 10 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 101 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

19CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 19
  • Globia oblongaOblong Sedge Borer Moth, Large Noagria
  • Globia subflavaYellow Sedge Borer, Yellowish Nonagria, Subflava Sedge Borer
  • 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
Flower color
Brown
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
November

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Flower color · “Brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Height · “Up to about 12 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • primary_flower_color · “brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Southern Cat Tail

Conservation status

Virginia rankNot available
Global rankG4G5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources