Common Cattail vs Woolgrass - TreeTime.ca

Common Cattail vs Woolgrass

Scirpus cyperinus

Typha latifolia

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Woolgrass
Common Cattail

Woolgrass is a native perennial sedge that forms dense clumps in wetlands, ditches, and along shorelines. Its ability to thrive in saturated soils and shallow water, combined with its spreading growth habit, makes it especially valuable for waterside & riparian plantings, erosion control, ecological restoration, and naturalization projects.

The distinctive spikelets are covered in brown woolly bristles, which is where it gets the name Woolgrass. It produces seeds that are eaten by waterfowl and small mammals, while its dense stems offer cover and nesting habitat. It grows most actively in spring and fall, slowing or going dormant in the summer heat.

Cattail is found all across North America, growing next to water. Like other waterside plants, Cattail provides erosion control and forage for animals.

It is suitable for land reclamation. Cattail is able to tolerate cold weather and occasional flooding.

Woolgrass Quick Facts

Common Cattail Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: wet
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium
Suckering: medium


Foliage: thick, flat
Flowers: yellow and green
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Other Names: brown woolly sedge, common woolgrass, common woolly bulrush, cottongrass bulrush, marsh bulrush, wool grass
Other Names: baco, bulrush, cat o nine tails, cossack asparagus, flag, reed mace, rush