How a cattail can become a corn dog

When we hear the word pollen, many of us — including me — think of that nasty, airborne stuff produced by plants that causes itchy eyes, runny nose and repetitive sneezing.

I suffer from seasonal allergies so bad that even from the inside of an air-conditioned car, when I see someone mowing the lawn, I begin to sneeze. But some lucky folks can walk right through a field of ragweed, take in a deep breath to whiff some of that country air and just smile.

Pollen is typically fine, powdery microscopic grains produced by the male part of a flower or cone. Pollen is vital in most plants during the development of seeds and fruit. Plant pollen is often transported from plant to plant by pollinators, such as bees, flies, birds and insects; or it is wind-dispersed as in the infamous ragweed, grasses and certain trees.

All of these can at times make my day not so joyous. Love it or hate it, plant pollen is essential in our lives, as we cannot live without plants — especially for food.

Just the other day I asked my son Steve, another pollen hater who also suffers from seasonal allergies, if he would join me on an excursion to get to love plant pollen a little more. It wasn't going to be a little sniff around the flower garden, but a venture deep inside a towering stand of pollen so we could eat some of the powdery stuff.

Steve's smile suddenly turned into a smirk, followed by, "Dad, are you serious?" I told him to wear old sneakers, since we'd head to a nearby marsh to collect cattail pollen.

"And then what?" chided my son.

"We're going to make a tasty snack," I replied.

Steve gathered his old sneakers, and we headed off to the marsh.

Cattails are one of the most recognizable plants found growing in wetlands, marshes or along the shores of ponds, lakes and rivers. They are tall, erect (nearly 10 feet high), stiff plants with long grasslike leaves.

There are two types of cattails that can be found in our region, the common cattail (Typha latifolia) and its look-alike cousin, the narrowleaf cattail (Typha angustifolia). The tips of both species support the characteristic corn dog-shaped spike, which actually consists of a cottony female part and the slender male spike. During mid-summer, the male cylinder-like spike is covered with golden pollen.

It is during the brief pollen-producing season of mid-summer when cattail pollen can be collected and added to flour to make nutritious breads, muffins and pancakes.

There are several ways to collect cattail pollen. Some folks use a plastic 2-liter soda bottle and place the male pollen head inside and shake, or simply use a plastic bag. I find the soda-bottle method to be a bit cumbersome.

Armed with gallon-sized, plastic zippered bags in hand, Steve and I ventured into the pollen-rich marsh — a nightmare to allergy sufferers. Instead of histamine terminators, we became human pollinators.

We marched into the marsh for a meal, and in less than one hour, two busy bees visited enough cattail stalks to collect more than 2 cups of golden pollen.

We busted through the cattails and headed back to the car, carefully protecting our prize. We then combined our gatherings of gold dust into one bag.

"We did it," said a sneeze-free Steve. I thanked Steve for his valiant effort.

"So what are you going to make from the cattails?" he asked.

Some folks call them marsh grass, big reed or cat-o'-nine-tails. I call it corn dog grass and one of the most nutritious wild edible plants. Practically anytime of the year, one can consume something edible from the cattail.

I promised Steve that the next morning he'd be snacking on something delicious called corn dog bread, made from cattail pollen.

With that said, I wish to share my recipe (accompanying this article) for corn dog bread and the steps needed to process cattail pollen into flour.

By the way, Steve loved it!

Contact Rick Koval at pocononaturalist@yahoo.com.