Cattail Trivia I've read some interesting things about cattails that I just have to share with you. Cattails don't get 'tails' until their second year. When the tails are still green, you can roast them and eat them. Let me know how they taste, won't you? When brown, they can be used as torches. When they turn to cotton, you can do what native Americans did and use the cotton as diaper material. Native Americans also wove mats and made toys from cattail leaves. Native Americans and pioneers discovered that juice from the stems of cattail could be rubbed on the gums to alleviate toothache pain. Cattails are considered a water weed, and no wonder, because of the way they spread! I bought 3 two foot high cattails in March and they have grown to over three dozen already! Mine are narrow leaf, which are semi dwarf. They still get 5 feet high, so make sure to ask how high they get if you buy some. True dwarf varieties only get around three feet high, which is great for small ponds.