I mentioned this in my post "some research into local grasses" but I thought to expand on it here.
The tryptamine content is very intriguing but I have yet to find a report of it being used for either extraction or as an ingredient in an ayahuasca analog.
The pollen being used as an aphrodisiac in TCM is very interesting, next time I visit a Chinese pharmacy I will inquire about it.
Trout tested Typha Spp. for tryptamines, his test came back positive. Small amounts of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine along with other undistinguished alkaloids were present during trouts testing.(Voogelbreinder, 379)
T. latifolia has been utilized for ethnomedicinal purposes by the Salish of North America.
When anthropologists and ethnobotanists were gathering details the Salish were likely hesitant to divulge information they protected. Any preparations or rituals themselves were unfortunately prohibited at one point.
(Ostapkowicz, 78 )
T. latifolia is an ingredient in Sehoere, a South African brew used for divination, which also contained phalaris. (Voogelbreinder, 61)
T. capensis, (known as mostila) is used in parts of south africa in a divination ceremony (Sobecki)
Superficially, the spadix has been used to mimic a cuban cigar. (Rätsch. et al)
Isorhamnetin, pentacosane, sitosterol, palmitinic acid, and a-typhasterol are constituents of the pollen of T. angustata. (Muller-ebeling and Rätsch, 153)
The pollen of both T. latifolia and T. angustifolia known as Pu Huang are consumed in TCM as a cure for nosebleeds or as an aphrodisiac.
(Muller-ebeling and Rätsch)
the use as an aphrodisiac should imply some kind of stimulatory action.
The specific use of the fluffy white down, and not any other part of the plant could signify the importance of the color white in Salish mythos.(Ostapkowicz, 79)
The rhizomes are roasted and eaten as a springtime food by Lower Lillooet, Nlaka'pamux, Okanagan-Colville, Carrier. The children of the Chilcotin peoples ate the peeled white lower stem and leaf base. The flowering spikes and pollen were potentially a food item of the Nlaka'pamux. Rhizomes and inner stalks were used by the Chehalis and Lower Chinook in the West of Washington.(Kuhnlein, 67)
sources:
Kuhnlein, H. V., & Turner, N. J. (1991). Traditional plant foods of Canadian indigenous peoples: Nutrition, botany and use. Philadelphia: Gordon and Breach Science Pub.
Ostapkowicz, J., Lepofsky, D., Schulting, R., & Mc Halsie, A. (2001). The Use of Cattail (Typha Latifolia L.) Down as a Sacred Substance by the Interior and Coast Salish of British Columbia.
Rätsch, C. (2005). The encyclopedia of psychoactive plants: Ethnopharmacology and its applications. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.
Müller-Ebelling,C., Rätsch, C. (2013).The Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs: Psychoactive Substances for Use in Sexual Practices. (find publisher)
Sobieki, J. F., (2006). A review of plants used in divination in southern Africa and their psychoactive effects. Department of Anthropology & Development Studies, University of Johannesburg.
Voogelbriender S. (2009) Garden of Eden, the Shamanic Use of Psychoactive Flora and Fauna, and the Study of Consciousness. Black Rainbow.