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Typha species (cattail plants)

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AlbertKLloyd

AlbertKLloyd

Esteemed member
OG Pioneer
Rumor has it these plants are very interesting.

They contain alkaloids and need further study.

They are also considered sacred by many cultures.

Typha capensis powder is sold by a few ethnobotanical suppliers.

As far as I know all species are edible.
 
This made me laugh. When I was a kid I heard they made you trip so me and my friend boiled some up. Only it was so foul looking we refused to drink it. Definitely needs investigation.
 
I've heard that there is some indication of tryptamines in the plants, but along with lots of other things too and i have no info about concentrations.
 
Hmmm...a known edible species + MAOI.

Would be a really easy (and presumably safe) experiment to do.

Or are these rumors on the same level as smoking dried banana peels?
 
pinkoyd said:
Hmmm...a known edible species + MAOI.

Would be a really easy (and presumably safe) experiment to do.

Or are these rumors on the same level as smoking dried banana peels?
Click to expand...

I didn't hear any bioassay rumors, just that in certain tests there was an indication of alkaloids, concentrations could be low.

Banana peel can contain very high levels (2%) of dopamine that converts to salsolidine and tryptamines have been found in banana plant material like 5-OH-DMT (bufotenine)... i've never dismissed the banana peel thing outright, but then I have not ever tried smoking them either.
 
Are you sure about bufotenine in banana plant matter? I certainly know about the 5-HTP and 5-HT content, but that is news to me and I can't find any supporting papers.
One of Appleseed's TLC assays tentatively detected DMT (as well as many unidentifieds) in a Typha sp.
 
Really now? Cat's Tails contain Alkaloids? Do you have any sources
to those "rumors", AlbertKLloyd? Any indication as to what kind of
alkaloids may be found in Typha species? Tryptamines? Phenethylamines?

Some care may have to be taken when harvesting Typha species:
wikipedia said:
While Typha latifolia grows all over, including in rural areas, it is not advisable to eat specimens deriving from polluted water as it is used as a bioremediator, it absorbs pollutants. Do not eat them if they taste very bitter or spicy
Click to expand...

So only harvest specimens which grow near water of which you are SURE it is not polluted.
It would sure be great if Typha angustifolia turns out to contain a decent amount of entheo-
genic alkaloids; It grows in almost every riverbed, pondside & lakeside here in abundance
every summer.
 
wira said:
Are you sure about bufotenine in banana plant matter? I certainly know about the 5-HTP and 5-HT content, but that is news to me and I can't find any supporting papers.
One of Appleseed's TLC assays tentatively detected DMT (as well as many unidentifieds) in a Typha sp.
Click to expand...
I recall reading it, that bufotenine was found in the sap of musa, but it has been years since i researched this. I can look for a ref, but I read it in a book, not online.
from 'anadenanthera' by torres and repke,swinburne1976,studied leachate from the fruit of cavendish bananas.fruit was misted and the runoff collected.anthranilic acid and another compound were found......the latter was thought to be bufotenine.....
Click to expand...

that is one ref taken from SAB but it is not the one I read, I have never had access to the work of Torres outside of once glancing at a copy at a friends house.

I will keep looking later.
 
Thanks for the lead: I have Torres & Repke's book but hadn't read it yet. It does indeed say that. The bufotenine was only tentatively identified. The full reference for that is -
Swinburne, T. 1976. "Stimulants and appressoria formation by Colletotrichum musae (Berk. and Curt) Arx. in banana leachate." Phytopathologische Zeitschrift 87:74-90.
 
This thread sparked my interest.

Around were i live the cattails grow in crops around the wet lands. I'd be willing to try i few a/b extracts and stbs. I obviously would not be consuming and of the end product. But i would love to know if any actives exist in these wonderful plant that over my years have spent some hours "journaling' amoung them.

If any one has the means there could be TLC/MS.
 
It needs study is all.

I would not experiment with it yet, but I would collect it and examine it.
 
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