Where to find Cattails?
Cattails sit on the edge of pretty much every single lake, pond, swamp, and wetland that exists in South Dakota and most of the Midwest.
How to ID?
Let’s use basic English for this one! When you find a large area filled with 1/4″ to 1.5″ green stems that stand about 6 feet tall and have a hotdog shaped brown blob at the top you have found cattail!
When to eat Cattails?
The earlier the better. As can be seen in the video above cat tails are the tastiest before the hotdog shaped seed-pod forms. In SD you should start looking in June but they can be eaten raw well into the summer. Buy the end of summer the shoots are dried up and spongy (inedible).
How to eat this plant?
Raw! That is my family’s favorite way to eat them at least. But frying them up with a little vegan-butter and salt/pepper turns them into a meal worthy for a king. Absolutely delicious and seriously one of my favorite wild foods to eat.
Wild edible plants that can be found near cattails?
TREEfool 