Typha domingensis

Typha domingensis, southern cattail or cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Typha, described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1807. It is found throughout subtropical and tropical regions worldwide, in marshes and wet ground, and sometimes as a lesser companion in mangrove ecosystems. It grows between 2.0 and 2.5 metres long with flat sheaths protecting its core, and can survive in salty water, which makes it more resilient than similar cattails. In the Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq, a dessert called khirret is made from its pollen. In Turkish folk medicine the female flower spikes of this plant and other Typha are used externally on wounds such as burns, and extracts have shown wound-healing properties in rats. The wide reed sheaths ease weaving, so it is used in artisanal crafts, and the page says it can reduce water contamination by bacteria by up to 98 percent.