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Plant guide · Shoreline (emergent) plants

Cattail (Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia and their hybrid)

The classic pond-edge plant, with tall ribbon-like leaves and brown cigar-shaped flower spikes. Pennsylvania has a native cattail and two invasive ones that look very similar.

Also called: broad-leaved cattail, narrow-leaved cattail

Tall cattail leaves with brown cigar-shaped flower spikes at the edge of a pond.
Broad-leaved cattail at the water's edge. Photo: DidierFy, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)

What it looks like

  • Ribbon-like leaves that taper to a point, standing up to about six feet tall.
  • Dark brown, cigar-shaped flower spikes at the top.
  • Broad-leaved (common) cattail: wider leaves and no gap on the stem between the upper (male) and lower (female) flower parts.
  • Narrow-leaved cattail: narrower leaves and a visible gap between the two flower parts. The hybrid can show features of both.

Easily confused with

  • Each other: DCNR says the hybrid can be hard to identify.
  • Phragmites and reed canary grass: grasses with feathery flower plumes, not brown spikes.

Good and bad for your pond

  • Shoreline plants like cattails give fish and wildlife habitat and help protect banks from erosion.
  • Cattails can take over shallow water and wetland edges; PFBC says they are one of the three emergent plants most often targeted for control.

Native or invasive?

Invasive in Pennsylvania

Native and invasive kinds. Broad-leaved cattail is native (USDA PLANTS). Narrow-leaved cattail and the hybrid cattail are severe-threat invasives on DCNR's list.

USDA PLANTS: TYLA (lower 48 states: native)

Do grass carp eat it?

Grass carp usually leave it alone

Grass carp don't control cattails. Grass carp prefer submerged plants like pondweeds, elodea and coontail; they rarely control algae mats or lilies.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Using Grass Carp to Control Aquatic Plants (updated May 19, 2025) This may be outdated

Control options

Prevention first

Penn State Extension's advice for every nuisance plant and algae problem starts with nutrients: overgrowth is a symptom of excess phosphorus and nitrogen from sources such as barnyards, crop fields, septic systems, lawns and golf courses. Cutting fertilizer near the pond, maintaining septic systems, diverting nutrient-rich runoff and keeping a vegetated buffer strip are the long-term fixes; without them, control becomes a yearly chore. Penn State also notes that as sediment fills a pond, shallower water lets more plants grow, so keeping sediment out helps keep cattail edges from creeping outward.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Filamentous Algae (updated May 19, 2025) and the companion Penn State plant fact sheets This may be outdated

Remove it by hand or machine

DCNR notes narrow-leaved cattail can often be controlled by combining water-level changes with cutting or mechanical removal.

Biological options

None effective.

Chemical options (permit first)

DEP counts wetlands, including seasonal ones, as surface waters, so treating plants standing in a wetland or in water needs this permit too. Penn State notes cattails can be treated later in summer than most plants. Only products registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and labeled specifically for aquatic use, can be listed on the Chapter 91 permit application.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Sources: Water Quality Permitting for Pesticide Applications in Pennsylvania: FAQ (rev. Feb 21, 2025), FAQ #2, #3, #8, #10, #11, #28, #29; Permit Requirement for Use of an Aquatic Herbicide in Ponds (updated Sep 8, 2025) This may be outdated

Follow the product label; the label is the law. A Chapter 91 permit is required before any herbicide or algaecide goes in a pond (see fact). Consider a licensed applicator.

Report it

Report a suspected aquatic invasive species, such as hydrilla or European water chestnut, to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission with its online form or the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Reporting hotline (1-833-INVASIV), or through PA iMapInvasives. A photo and the exact location help staff confirm it.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Report Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) This may be outdated

PFBC: Report aquatic invasive species PA iMapInvasives

Sources

Checked Oct 4, 2026