OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Cattails are tall plants that grow in wet places like marshes, swamps, and near the edges of ponds and lakes. They can grow up to ten feet tall, which is taller than most grown-ups! They have a fuzzy brown top that looks just like a hot dog on a stick.

Cattails have long, flat leaves that look like green swords and roots that grow in the muddy bottom of ponds. That fuzzy brown part is actually made up of thousands of tiny seeds packed tightly together. When the wind blows in fall, the seeds burst apart into fluffy white puffs that float away to grow new cattails.