Common Name:

General Information

Typha minima is a herbaceous perennialplant growing from a rhizomatous rootstock. It produces a clump of slender, unbranched, erect stems 30 - 60cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and probably also as a food. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental.
Although the species is declining in parts of its wide range due to a range of threats, the declines are not thought to approach the threshold for a threatened category. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

Europe - Germany to France, east to Romania and Greece; Asia - Turkey, east to central Asia, Mongolia, China and Pakistan

Habitat

In shallow water of ponds and rivers in northern China[]. Shores of rivers and lakes, and marshes[]. Gravels on the margins of calcareous rivers, particularly in braided channels and oxbows, as well as in ditches, ponds and marshes[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.45 m
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Grows in boggy pond margins or shallow water up to 15cm deep. Requires a rich soil if it is to do well. Succeeds in sun or part shade[].
Seedlings rapidly form clones by means of rhizomes in their first season, flower the second season, and often form very large, persistent, often monospecific stands[].
The plant is thought to depend on disturbances such as fluctuating water levels or regular cutting of vegetation in order for it to thrive in the wild[].

Edible Uses

The following notes are for other members of this genus, but they probably also apply to this species:-

Rhizomes - raw or cooked. A sweet flavour[]. Rich in starch, around 30 - 46%, they can be boiled and eaten like potatoes or macerated and then boiled to yield a sweet syrup[]. The rhizome can also be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereal flours. Rich in protein, this flour is used to make biscuits, bread, cakes etc.

Seed - cooked. The seed is rather small and fiddly to utilize, but has a pleasant nutty taste when roasted.

An edible oil is obtained from the seed. Due to the small size of the seed this is probably not a very worthwhile crop[].

Pollen - raw or cooked. A protein rich additive to flour used in making bread, porridge etc. It can also be eaten with the young flowers, which makes it considerably easier to utilize. The pollen is a bright yellow or green colour, and turns pancakes, cookies or biscuits a pretty yellow colour[].

The pollen can be harvested by placing the flowering stem over a wide but shallow container and then gently tapping the stem and brushing the pollen off with a fine brush[]. This will help to pollinate the plant and thereby ensure that both pollen and seeds can be harvested[].

Medicinal

The pollen is diuretic, emmenagogue, haemostatic[]. The dried pollen is said to be anticoagulant, but when roasted with charcoal it becomes haemostatic[]. It is used internally in the treatment of kidney stones, haemorrhage, painful menstruation, abnormal uterine bleeding, post-partum pains, abscesses and cancer of the lymphatic system[, ]. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women[].
Externally, the pollen is used in the treatment of tapeworms, diarrhoea and injuries[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a pot and stand it in 3cm of water. Pot up the young seedlings as soon as possible and, as the plants develop, increase the depth of water. Plant out in summer.
Division in spring. Very easy, harvest the young shoots when they are about 10 - 30cm tall, making sure there is at least some root attached, and plant them out into their permanent positions.