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If you have a source for cattails, you are set for food. In the spring you can break off the plant, strip away the leaves, until you reach the heart of of the leaves where they are so tender that pressing on them lightly with your thumbnail will cut them easily. These taste like light tasting cucumbers and are awesome.
The very young, green cattail heads can be cooked and eaten. The pollen can be made into flour for baking. The roots can be beaten to get tons of starch out of them for various dishes. The roots can be dug up any time of the year too.