Cooper's-reed

Industrial Crop: Biomass Industrial Crop: Fiber Management: Hay Minor Global Crop Landscape Uses:Container, Erosion control, Massing, Specimen. A very easily grown plant, succeeding in the boggy margins of ponds or in shallow water up to 15cm deep. It succeeds in acid and calcareous soils and requires a less organic-rich soil than T. angustifolia in order to do well. It succeeds in sun or part shade. A very invasive plant spreading freely at the roots when in a suitable site, it is not suitable for growing in small areas. Unless restrained by some means, such as a large bottomless container, the plant will soon completely take over a site and will grow into the pond, gradually filling it in. This species will often form an almost complete monoculture in boggy soil. Provides excellent cover for wild fowl. Special Features: Attracts birds, North American native, Grows submerged, Invasive, Wetlands plant, Suitable for dried flowers. Carbon Farming Industrial Crop: Biomass Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels Industrial Crop: Fiber Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be! Management: Hay Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon. Minor Global Crop These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal. References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information Temperature Converter Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit: Celsius Fahrenheit: The PFAF Bookshop Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants , Edible Perennials , Edible Trees , Edible Shrubs , Woodland Gardening , and Temperate Food Forest Plants . Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical) . Shop Now

Edible Parts: Flowers Leaves Oil Pollen Root Seed Shoots Stem Edible Uses: Oil Roots - raw or cooked[2, 12]. They can be boiled and eaten like potatoes or macerated and then boiled to yield a sweet syrup. The roots can also be dried and ground into a powder, this powder is rich in protein and can be mixed with wheat flour and then used for making bread, biscuits, muffins etc[55, 62, 95, 183]. One hectare of this plant can produce 8 tonnes of flour from the rootstock. The plant is best harvested from late autumn to early spring since it is richest in starch at this time. The root contains about 80% carbohydrate (30 - 46% starch) and 6 - 8% protein. Young shoots in spring - raw or cooked[12, 55, 62, 94, 102, 183]. An asparagus substitute. They taste like cucumber. The shoots can still be used when they are up to 50cm long. Base of mature stem - raw or cooked[2, 9, 55]. It is best to remove the outer part of the stem[62, 183]. It is called 'Cossack asparagus'. Immature flowering spike - raw, cooked or made into a soup[62, 85, 94]. It tastes like sweet corn. Seed - raw or cooked[2, 257]. The seed is rather small and fiddly to utilize, but has a pleasant nutty taste when roasted. The seed can be ground into a flour and used in making cakes etc. An edible oil is obtained from the seed[55, 85]. Due to the small size of the seed this is probably not a very worthwhile crop[K]. Pollen - raw or cooked. The pollen can be used as a protein rich additive to flour when making bread, porridge etc[12, 55, 62, 94, 102]. It can also be eaten with the young flowers, which makes it considerably easier to utilize. The pollen can be harvested by placing the flowering stem over a wide but shallow container and then gently tapping the stem and brushing the pollen off with a fine brush. This will help to pollinate the plant and thereby ensure that both pollen and seeds can be harvested[K]. References More on Edible Uses

Seed - surface sow in a pot and stand it in 3cm of water. Pot up the young seedlings as soon as possible and, as the plants develop, increase the depth of water. Plant out in summer. Division in spring. Very easy, harvest the young shoots when they are about 10 - 30cm tall, making sure there is at least some root attached, and plant them out into their permanent positions.