December On the Marsh

The marsh in December is often quiet and may appear lifeless, but many
organisms are simply in their wintering state, biding their time until length of daylight and
temperatures prompt them to become active once again. There are bird species that
have arrived to over-winter here and some of the regulars stay all year long, residents
including woodpeckers, cardinals and blue jays. They still decorate the area wearing
their bright colors like ornaments on the landscape. Ice replaces open water in most
places, and a layer of snow may cover the land like a soft white blanket.

The cattails that surround the water’s edge of the marsh and beyond stand tall
like sentinels guarding the wetland. They have turned golden and look a bit tattered,
their seeds are now ripe and freely carried by the wind to reseed or colonize new areas
with favorable conditions. They also reproduce with rhizomes anchored in the sediment
below. Native broad-leaved cattails are a keystone plant species of the marsh, if they
were removed it would cause dramatic changes to the entire ecosystem. They serve as
food and habitat for wildlife. Ducks and geese nest among them in spring, red-winged
blackbirds, yellow headed blackbirds as well as marsh wrens and others nest among
their protective foliage.
Frogs and salamanders lay eggs in wet areas at their base, muskrats build
houses in their clusters and feed on their rhizomes beneath the water. These act as a
stabilizer in the substrate and fresh water filter eliminating some contaminants from the
water. Cattails have such importance to the marsh and offer many uses for people as
well.
The native Americans used cattails or various parts of the cattail plant for many
different needs. Leaves and stalks were woven into mats, baskets, sandals, insulation
for their homes and modified to produce string or chords. Its downy fluff lined
moccasins, cradleboards and even served as diapers. They were also a dependable
food source. In spring the shoots and stems can be peeled and eaten raw or boiled. Young
flower spikes were also boiled and eaten. The pollen could be gathered and used as a
flour for baking. Rhizomes and roots contained starch and could be eaten raw, roasted,
dried and turned into flour packed with nutrition.
The cattail plant has also been referred to as the “pharmacy of the marsh”. Roots
and stems have medicinal properties and were used as poultices for burns and wounds.
The sap could be used as a numbing agent and had antiseptic properties. Early people
could not visit a drug store but often used what was available in the environment to their
benefit. The cattail marsh is quiet now waiting for spring to re-emerge and once again
support all the organisms that depend on their growth.

Merry Christmas from CEI the friends group of Collins Marsh! New members are
always welcome.