Some of the most delightful gardens around are those containing artificial bodies of water as parts of the landscaping. Some gardens have pools, creeks and even waterfalls as prominent features or you might be lucky enough to live on a river or have a dam.Many people incorporate fish, frogs, and aquatic plants to their water gardens. One native semi aquatic plant you might want to include is Cumbungi (Typha), also known as Bulrush.There are three species growing in the wild in Australia. It grows in marshes, bays, and the banks of lakes and rivers, where the lower parts very often submerged. Cumbungi very often forms large monocultures, squeezing out all other vegetation over large areas. It is considered a useful and productive part of the landscape in some places, stabilizing the stream banks and preventing erosion. It other places, it is views as an aggressive and troublesome weed choking off waterways.Cumbungi is actually a really useful non-cultivated plant. Indigenous peoples in Australia and in many other countries have used it for thousands of years as a splendid source of food, building material, insulation, cushioning, and many other uses.The plant spreads by means of large, fleshy rhizomes growing on top of the mud or just below the surface. These are white and starchy. They also have air chambers allowing air to circulate into the underwater parts of the plant. People in many places harvest the rhizomes, roast them and eat them. They are an excellent source of protein and carbohydrates. The young shoots are edible as a green vegetable similar to asparagus, as are the immature flowering spikes. Cumbungi produces large, sausage-shaped spikes with many thousands of flowers. Male (pollen-producing) flowers are at the top, female (seed-producing) flowers below. If you harvest them early before the flowers are fully formed, you can boil them, dip them in butter, and eat the green flower buds. There is a wiry stem in the middle, so you need to nibble around that and eat the soft parts.Later when the male flowers open, you can collect the bright yellow pollen. Mix it with flour and make tasty and nutritious breads, muffins, pastries, etc. This food is very high in protein. Of course, the plant has non-food uses as well. People in ages past dipped the spikes into grease or wax and lit them as torches or candles. The leaves are wonderful for weaving baskets, making a soft but durable seat for a chair, or building a thatched-roof house. The female flowers ripen into a cotton mass, perfect for stuffing pillows, insulating jackets or kindling a fire.In a back yard garden, Cumbungi is a marvelously beautiful plant, the prefect touch to make your artificial pool seem like a natural part of the landscape. But if you leave it unattended, it can spread and take the place over. It is best to thin it out once in a while, enjoying a tasty treat in the process.