The cattail shoot is the tender inner core of the young stalk of the cattail or bulrush (Typha), a tall reed of freshwater marshes worldwide. Pulled from the centre of the plant in spring and stripped of its tough green outer leaves, the pale, crisp heart is mild, faintly sweet and cucumber-fresh, with a clean crunch that earned it the folk name "Cossack asparagus." It is a traditional foraged wetland vegetable of Eastern Europe, East Asia and Indigenous North America, eaten raw in salads or lightly cooked like a spring shoot.