Typha domingensis

Typha domingensis, known commonly as southern cattail[2] or cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Typha.

Typha domingensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Typhaceae
Genus:	Typha
Species:	T. domingensis
Binomial name
Typha domingensis Pers.
Synonyms[1]
Typha angustata Bory & Chaub.

It is found throughout temperate and tropical regions worldwide.[3] It is sometimes found as a subdominant associate in mangrove ecosystems such as the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of Yucatán.[4]

In the marshes of southern Iraq, Khirret is a dessert made from the pollen of this plant[5]. In Turkish folk medicine the female inflorescences of this plant and other Typha are used externally to treat wounds such as burns. Extracts of T. domingensis have been demonstrated to have wound healing properties in rat models.[6]

Water extracts of the fruit, female flower and male flower of Typha domingensis exhibit iron chelating activity as well as superoxide and nitric oxide scavenging activities. By contrast, only the fruit and female flower extracts were found to have alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity.[7] A partially purified, proanthocyanidin-rich butanol fraction of the fruit was shown to be a competitive inhibitor of alpha-glucosidase, which also had concurrent antioxidant activity.[8]

Recently it was found that Typha domingensis is very effective at reducing bacterial contamination of water for agricultural use. This plant helps to reduce, up to 98 percent, pollution by enterobacteria (usually found in the intestines of mammals) involved in the development of disease.[9]