flowers that don’t look like flowers

my cattails are flowering. they are not particularly pretty, but i think they’re interesting. cattails are monoecious, which means that both male and female flowers appear on the same plant. the male flowers are at the top of the plant with the female part just below. see the little gap between the two cylinders? the lower (female) spike is the one that turns into the brown sausage in fall.  after releasing their pollen, the male flowers wither and fall off, leaving the characteristic tan-colored furry fruiting spikes. both the pollen and the flowers of the male clusters are edible (the tiny flowers are packed along the cylinder–grab one and squish it between your fingers to see the flowers).  after i took this photo, i stripped the male flowers into a bowl, and i am saving them for my salad tonight. this is the first time i am trying it. they are supposedly somewhat flavorless but loaded with protein.

p.s. heads up, tomorrow is the summer solstice. 16 hours of daylight in the northern hemisphere. anyone have any solstice rituals they want to share?

cattails in bloom (typha)