After a long hike, we had arrived at Cattail Falls, what would have been a very tall and impressive waterfall were it not for the fact that there was really only a trickle of water to be seen. We were more or less alone when we reached the falls because the trail to them had been removed from trail guides to lessen traffic and protect the fragile ecosystem of the falls. While looking for some noteworthy nature to photograph for this blog, I figured it would be appropriate that I should note that there were, in fact, plenty of cattails surrounding Cattail Falls. Sturdy plants that grow best in shallow water like that in the pool at the base of the falls, there were enough cattails around for it to be considered characteristic of the falls.
In retrospect, I’m glad I took a photo of the cattails because it led me to learn something new about their role in fragile environments like the Falls. I’m unsure why the Falls were considered so fragile that it needed to be taken off the maps, and at first I wondered if it was because cattails were easily damaged by pollution. What I found, on the contrary, is that cattails are good absorbers of pollutants like arsenic and are sometimes planted in fragile ecosystems for this exact purpose. While this was not the case at the falls, I found it interesting that this fragile ecosystem had a built in way to absorb harmful pollutants in the cattails from which it gets its name.
Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/16/cattail-army-deployed-to-fight-water-pollution/
iNaturalist Link: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5977765