Helpful Water Plants

I am back in a riparian ecosystem. Riparian means near the banks of a river or stream or pond. As I came up to a stream, I saw a bed of clover-like plants growing low out of the water. This plant is Watercress. It has been eaten by tribal people. It can be eaten raw as a salad, or it can be cooked. I also found out that it would be boiled and strained. The liquid was used as a kidney and liver treatment.

The next plant is the Bulrush. What plant does it look like that we learned about recently? If you said Cat-tail, you are correct! The young shoots growing out of the water are edible. Bulrushes are very stiff and would be lashed together into bundles. These bundles were used to build walls and roof tops of shelters. Baskets, fish traps, mats, and hats were also made out of Bulrush. Incredibly, you can make a boat out of Bulrushes! Bulrushes (also called Tule ...too lee) were tied together with Cat-tail fibers and Wild Grape vines. Then these bundles were formed to make a boat in the shape of a canoe. It floats!

Where would you go if you had a Bulrush canoe?

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