Typha (Cattails) are aquatic or semi-aquatic, rhizomatous perennials with long, narrow, strap-shaped leaves and interesting dark brown, cylindrical flower spikes in summer. Growing along lake margins and in marshes, often in dense colonies, they tolerate water over their crown and provide protective cover and nesting areas for animals and birds. Native to many parts of the world, they overwinter well and withstand freezing temperatures. Cattails have been cultivated as ornamental pond plants and used in dried flower arrangements. Thanks to their extensive root system, they are good for stabilizing banks of rivers and lakes.