Tour Stop 9: Cattail Marsh
This stop on the tour is a wet depression in an open area with no canopy cover. Along with the wet meadow, sedge marsh, and skunk cabbage area, this microhabitat gives another dimension to the complex. Years ago it may have been a much deeper pond that has gradually filled in and become a perfect environment for cattails to grow. This spot has become home to Great Blue Herons, green frogs and spring peepers. This is one of my favorite spots on the site because the sound of route 287 is faint and biological activity is higher on this border between two habitat types, (ecologists call them the ecotone). Although not very large by Great Swamp terms, this island of cattails gives migrating songbirds a safe haven from predators during their long journeys.
Cattails come in two flavors — large leaved and narrow leaved forms. The ones you see here are the large leaved form, Typha latifolia. When I was a child we referred to them as “punks” and would collect the dried flower heads to burn and use as an insect repellent. Songbirds, white-footed mice, and insects all make use of the downy flower head to line their nests and find refuge from the cold. Each strand of fiber has a seed attached that can be blown by the wind when the heads have dried sufficiently. Native Americans have a special affinity with this plant. Rootstalks were ground for meal, young shoots were eaten raw and the dried stalks were used in weaving and hut building.
White-footed mouse and green frog.
Sphagnum moss.