Robert Williams Jr., age 13, of Concord, N.H., for his question:

DO PEOPLE EAT THE CATTAIL PLANT?

Cattail is a wild plant that grows in swamps and marshes throughout the United States and southern Canada and in many other parts of the world. The roots of cattails contain starch and are eaten by the Cossacks of Russia. The English eat them under the name of Cossack asparagus.

In some places, cattails cover large areas with their waving green leaves. The larger cattails are about six feet high and have long, broad leaves. The smaller ones have narrow leaves.

Cattail flowers enlarge and become the long brown spikes sometimes used for winter decorations. On the Pacific Coast, cattails are known as tule reeds.

Cattails provide a silky down used to dress wounds and for some upholstering. During World War I this down was used in the manufacture of artificial silk and served as a substitute for cotton.

In some places in Europe and India, people use the highly flammable pollen of cattails for tinder.