Marsh

Cat Tail: Used by Native Americans. Pollen and seeds are very high in protein. In winter leading shoots of root stock full of starch used as vegetable. Root stocks dried and ground into meal (same food value as rice or corn). Flowers used as a diaper for babies in cradle board. Leaves used for chairs and mats. In Bombay India pollen is harvested and made into bread. Young flowering shoots are eaten raw or boiled as a delicacy. Greeks mixed starchy part with hog or goose grease and used for burns and to stop bleeding. Very buoyant once used in life preservers. Stalks used to make cane type furniture and for decoration. Geese and muskrats eat underground stems. Plants provide shelter and nesting sites for birds.

Horsetail: Bears, muskrats and geese eat it. Romans 7th century boiled heads like asparagus, or mixed with flour and fried. Indians and settlers used stems as diuretic to treat kidney and dropsical disorders. Outer layer of skin (which contains silica) was used to scour pots. Today silica is used to polish hardwood, ivory and brass. Found in all parts of world except Australia. Spores are in cone like head. Stems contain deposits of silicon dioxide which add strength and protect the stem from predators also makes them poisonous to livestock.

Mugwort: Leaves used to make tea Early settlers used leaves to repel fleas

Rush: Native Americans used rushes to weave mats and baskets. Common ornamental found around ponds in the U.S.

Spike Sedge: Native Americans used sedges to weave mats and baskets. Common ornamental found around ponds in the U.S.

Spiny Rush: basket weaving plant, base red, top yellowish, center tan, soaked in organic mud black; used both for rough baskets and fine intricate designs

Yerba Mansa: Early Californians used peppery astringent root stock as household remedy, chewed dried root and used infusion for outer aches and pains; Native Amer. decoction of roots to cure pleurisy, infusion to cure stomach ulcers, congestion, and colds as wash for sores; tea applied to venereal sores; powder on cuts and sores (also reported as cure for knife cuts)