Foraging Bulrushes

[Deleted member 56522]

I saw a program once that said that some of the underground parts of Bulrushes can be eaten, but I cannot see anything in my (old) edition of food for free. There's a local stream (here in lowland Scotland) where there are a lot of "tall things" near the water, so I did a search to find out how to identify them to see if they are edible.

However, I quickly came across this US site, that whilst interesting, just confused me as it listed numerous different plants which it called "Bulrush" and "cattail", saying that people usually get the wrong name, and not giving any details about the British "tall things". So, then I tried doing a search for British edible bulrushes, and that didn't turn up much of either.

My guess is that a US site on Bulrushes, is not going to help me in the UK and it seems like there are a lot of easily confused species. If I have no idea which to look for and any are poisonous I would have problems. So can anyone help by telling me the edible British species and as importantly, whether anything that is, or looks like, a bulrush is poisonous.

 

[Toddy]

If it's tall, stiff, with ....well mine aren't at that stage yet this year....but you know or you can see the remains of cigar shaped seed spikes, then it's what we grew up calling bullrushes.
They're really cattails, but it's 'bullrushes' right enough.

There's lots you can eat on them. The fresh shoots can be sliced up and eaten like bamboo shoots, the roots can be roasted and you kind of sook the starchy stuff off the stringy bits.
The leaves make great basketry material, the stiff stems are good in tension trays and the seed heads will burn and glow like a slow burning ember.

The only issue with them is that they natually accrete heavy metals in their roots.

So, it you're going to eat them, be careful about where they're growing.

M

 

[Broch]

Toddy's just about covered it - the seed can be ground into a flour but I've never tried it.

The proper name for the tall ones with the velvety brown tops (later in summer) is Greater Reedmace (Typha latifolia)

See here:

Succulent Reedmace

Most of you will have tried Reedmace (Typha Latifolia) tubers, they're a fantastic source of starch in the UK. Some of you may have tried the young shoots as well. This is a simple way of harvesting a delicious, soft but crisp, vegetable resource later in the season. I enjoy it raw but it can be...

bushcraftuk.com

 

[Deleted member 56522]

Thanks, I went for a quick look ... off the path, though the nettles, down the steep bank and into the stream with about a foot of smelly mud (much to amusement of kids coming home from school) and I now know why people wear waders!

There was only one plant I could identify: not bulrush, but Iris I think. But now I know what to look for.

 

[Broch]

Iris (which is mildly toxic) has a rib running down the leaf; Reedmace leaf looks very similar but has no rib.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Thanks, I went for a quick look ... off the path, though the nettles, down the steep bank and into the stream with about a foot of smelly mud (much to amusement of kids coming home from school) and I now know why people wear waders!

There was only one plant I could identify: not bulrush, but Iris I think. But now I know what to look for.

Good efforts!! Iris is the one easily confused with cat tails, it has a much flatter profile, and seems to have its feet in the water ever so slightly less than cattails in my experience.

Just to add to what Toddy and Broch have said- the pollen can be used to enrich flour mixes.

 

[Toddy]

Toddy's just about covered it - the seed can be ground into a flour but I've never tried it.

The proper name for the tall ones with the velvety brown tops (later in summer) is Greater Reedmace (Typha latifolia)

See here:

Succulent Reedmace

Most of you will have tried Reedmace (Typha Latifolia) tubers, they're a fantastic source of starch in the UK. Some of you may have tried the young shoots as well. This is a simple way of harvesting a delicious, soft but crisp, vegetable resource later in the season. I enjoy it raw but it can be...

bushcraftuk.com

If you wait until the fresh spikes form and turn yellow with pollen, take a poly bag and slip the end of the stem into it. Rattle it around a bit and you'll end up with a lot of yellow protein rich pollen in the bag. It's a good addition to flour. Not much taste on it's own, but it's good plant protein
Don't damage the stem, because you can repeat the collection process several times per stem as the pollen matures

M

 

[TeeDee]

If you wait until the fresh spikes form and turn yellow with pollen, take a poly bag and slip the end of the stem into it. Rattle it around a bit and you'll end up with a lot of yellow protein rich pollen in the bag. It's a good addition to flour. Not much taste on it's own, but it's good plant protein
Don't damage the stem, because you can repeat the collection process several times per stem as the pollen matures

M

What month does that occur in because I always seem to miss it.

I need an app to prompt me to get out foraging

 

[Toddy]

I think it rather depends on where you are. Mine grow in my garden, and right now there are long leaves up, but no flower spikes. I'll post when they start showing any green because if they're out up here, they're bound to be a tad earlier down your bit of the country.
I ought to be able to work it out; I know I've posted about collecting the pollen and baking with it before.

 

[TeeDee]

I think it rather depends on where you are. Mine grow in my garden, and right now there are long leaves up, but no flower spikes. I'll post when they start showing any green because if they're out up here, they're bound to be a tad earlier down your bit of the country.
I ought to be able to work it out; I know I've posted about collecting the pollen and baking with it before.

Thanks Toddy.

 

[Toddy]

Here you go
2017, July here in central Lanarkshire.

Protein rich reedmace pollen

One of my washing lines crosses the pond in the back garden just enough that when I spotted dusty yellow splodges on my towels I knew that the reedmace was ripe for collecting. The flowering head, that eventually forms the familiar cigar shaped and coloured 'bullrush' is an all in one. The top...

bushcraftuk.com

M

 

[Deleted member 56522]

Managed to find a place where bulrushes were growing today. They were growing just a few meters out from the bank on the mud, which turned out could be walked on, but the stick I brought went in a 1-2ft, so I could have got stuck. I was glad I took someone. The bed was a tangle of Bulrush, Iris and Marestail, so I found an old Bulrush stem (easily identified by the bottle brush ) and followed it down. The roots were about 10cm under the mud and were long strands like a very fat version of couch grass. At the moment they were only about 15mm thick, but they clearly had shrunk putting their energy reserves into new growth. So not the right time of year.

I'd taken a stick and a collapsible spade, but most of the digging was done by hand as the mud was soft and I had to feel where it went. (another good reason to take someone, otherwise everything would have get covered in mud).

 

[Toddy]

See my tag line

If you save a bit of that root, and you plant it in a bucket that's mostly water, you can grow it happily in the garden
At least that way you'll know what it's been growing on and likely to have absorbed.

M

 

[TeeDee]

I purchased a Cattail from my local Garden centre.
I've not put it where it need to go yet but noticed the tip is now producing pollen and starting to 'plume' ( if thats a term )

I'm in the elysian South West so your local timings may vary.

 

[Toddy]

Mine has just put up the first pollen filled spikes

M

 

[Billy-o]

There are places in the ravines here where they grow a lot; on consistently wet slopes and in catchments. I love the look of them thoughout the year from their luscious verdancy with their velvety cigars at this time to their burst, raggedy and rattling state in the Winter. They make great sticks to practice your casting with while walking the dog then.

 

[StevieE]

Only thing I ever used bulrushes for as a child was to build small boats by wrapping them around in an oval shape and sailing them down the river