cattail

cattail
/kat"tayl'/, n.
any tall, reedlike marsh plant of the genus Typha, esp. T. latifolia, having long, sword-shaped leaves and dense, cylindrical clusters of minute brown flowers. Also called bulrush, reed mace.
[1425-75; late ME cattestail. See CAT1, TAIL1]

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Any of the tall reedy marsh plants (see reed) that bear brown, furry fruiting spikes and make up the genus Typha (family Typhaceae), particularly T. latifolia, the long flat leaves of which are used especially for making mats and chair seats.

Cattails are found mainly in temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Important to wildlife, they are also often cultivated ornamentally as pond plants and for dried-flower arrangements. The leaves, which swell when wet, are used for caulking cracks in barrels and boats.

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▪ plant
      Any of the tall reedy marsh plants (see reed) that bear brown, furry fruiting spikes and make up the genus Typha (family Typhaceae), particularly T. latifolia, the long flat leaves of which are used especially for making mats and chair seats. Cattails are found mainly in temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Important to wildlife, they are also often cultivated ornamentally as pond plants and for dried-flower arrangements. The leaves, which swell when wet, are used for caulking cracks in barrels and boats.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • cattail — [kat′tāl΄] n. any of a genus (Typha) of the cattail family with reedlike leaves and long, brown, fuzzy, cylindrical flower spikes; esp., either of two species ( T. latifolia and T. angustifolia) whose long, flat leaves are used in making baskets… …   English World dictionary

  • cattail — cat tail, Cat tail Cat tail(k[a^]t t[=a]l), n. (Bot.) A tall erect rush or flag ({Typha latifolia}) growing widely in fresh and salt marshes, with long, flat, sword shaped leaves, having clusters of small brown flowers in a dense cylindrical… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cattail — type of plant, mid 15c., from CAT (Cf. cat) + TAIL (Cf. tail) …   Etymology dictionary

  • cattail — siauralapis švendras statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Švendrinių šeimos vaistinis augalas (Typha angustifolia), paplitęs Europoje, Azijoje ir Šiaurės Amerikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Typha angustifolia angl. cattail; lesser reedmace; narrowleaf… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • cattail — noun Date: 1548 any of a genus (Typha of the family Typhaceae, the cattail family) of tall reedy marsh plants with brown furry fruiting spikes; especially a plant (Typha latifolia) with long flat leaves used especially for making mats and chair… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • cattail — cat•tail [[t]ˈkætˌteɪl[/t]] n. pln any tall, reedlike marsh plant of the genus Typha, of the cattail family, esp. T. latifolia, with long sword shaped leaves that are used to make mats, and cylindrical clusters of minute brown flowers Also called …   From formal English to slang

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  • cattail — noun tall erect herbs with sword shaped leaves; cosmopolitan in fresh and salt marshes • Hypernyms: ↑marsh plant, ↑bog plant, ↑swamp plant • Hyponyms: ↑cat s tail, ↑bullrush, ↑bulrush, ↑na …   Useful english dictionary

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  • Cattail Moon — (1994) is a young adult novel written by Jean Thesman. PlotJulia Foster gets a chance to break away from her domineering mother for a while by moving from Seattle to Moon Valley to live with her father and grandmother. While trying to decide on… …   Wikipedia

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