If practice makes perfect – then I oughta be gettin pretty good at taking photos. Lord knows I’ve pushed the shutter button a time or two.
I’m still practicing with the Canon. I already know what my limitations are, I’m trying to figure out the cameras.
This plant is a Cattail. There are a ton of small wetland areas in West Virginia and within those, the cattails reign supreme.
Pictured is the flowering portion of the plant and what you see here is thousands of small seedlings. I imagine the conditions would have to be just right in the area these seeds finally come to rest. There were four flowering plants in this little area with thousands of seeds each and only about 100 plants total. Just some logical deduction tells me that 99.9% of these seeds land in areas unsuitable for the cattail to grow. Did you know Cattails are edible?
Cattails are a marvel, one of the most productive plants on Earth. They are also a desication machine and the shock army of desertification. The Typha Australis infestation in the Lake Chad basin is the driving force behind the expansion of the Sahel. There is enough cattail growing there to feed every African a pound loaf a day, if all were harvested and fit for human consumption. But harvest is difficult and labor intensive, and not all is fit for human consumption. The “bottle brush” appearance symbolizes the janitor in its soul. It cleanses water of pollutants, and hoards them like a miser. Their clearance and worldwide control would help solve MANY problems, from flooding through malaria to famine. Thanks for helping push “cattail consciousness”. Its a never ending nuisance begging to be made an everlasting resource.
Thanx for all the info – very enlightening comment.