Bulrushes

“Bulrush” is the common name for several species in the sedge family (Cyperaceae), especially those in genus Scirpus, but some others as well. They are typically robust, grasslike wetland plants that grow large compared to other sedges. Like other sedges, the stems are usually triangular in cross-section.

For an introduction to the sedge family, see its group page.

It’s a little confusing that there are several genera of sedges called bulrushes. Some of the confusion arose when the formerly large “bulrush” genus Scirpus was divided, and new genera were created for the split-off groups. (Globally, Scirpus had once contained about 300 species; now, it’s more like 120.)

• Although many plants left the original bulrush genus, their “bulrush” common names have persisted. Therefore “bulrush” generally refers to genus Scirpus in its old-fashioned sense: the former, broad sense, or Scirpus sensu lato.

Missouri’s bulrushes include about 27 species in the following genera:

• Scirpus (SKERR-pus), 8 species.
• Schoenoplectus (SKEE-no-PLEK-triss), 10 species.
• Schoenoplectiella (SKEE-no-PLEK-tee-el-uh), 4 species.
• Isolepis (eye-so-LEP-iss), 2 species.
• Bolboschoenus (bowl-boe-SKEE-nuss), 2 species.
• Trichophorum (TRICK-oh-FOR-um), 1 species.

This online field guide is an introduction. Botanists distinguish between sedge species by using microscopes to examine certain plant parts (especially the mature seeds). Rootstocks are usually required for surefire IDs, too. But many people will be able to start learning some of our most common bulrushes using photographs and helpful tips.

Below are seven of our most common and widespread species. For a full list of Missouri’s bulrushes, see Ecosystem Connections.

• Dark green bulrush, green bulrush, common bulrush, Scirpus atrovirens, scattered nearly statewide, with a wide distribution in the eastern United States; grows as an emergent aquatic along the margins of ponds, lakes, sloughs, and streams; also in ditches and wet depressions along roadsides. S. georgianus and S. pallidus were formerly lumped in with this species.
• Wool grass, woolgrass bulrush, cottongrass bulrush, Scirpus cyperinus, scattered in eastern and northern Missouri; grows as an emergent aquatic in swamps, sloughs, marshes, bottomland prairies, and margins of ponds and lakes; sometimes along streams and fens; also in roadside ditches and old quarries. Widely distributed in North America; a highly variable species; fine, smooth, twisting bristles protrude from the scales of the mature seed heads, creating a cottony or woolly look.
• Georgia bulrush, common bulrush, Scirpus georgianus, scattered nearly statewide, growing as an emergent aquatic along margins of ponds, lakes, sloughs, and streams, also ditches and wet depressions along roadsides. Related to S. atrovirens and formerly considered a part of that species, which explains why both are still called “common bulrush.” In North America, S. georgianus has a more southerly distribution; Missouri is in the area where the two species’ ranges overlap. The two are about equally as common in our state.
• Pendulous bulrush, nodding bulrush, rufous bulrush, red bulrush, Scirpus pendulus, scattered to common statewide; common and widespread in much in North America. Grows in bottomland and moist upland prairies, fens, moist depressions and ledges of calcareous glades and bluffs, and margins of streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds; also in ditches along roads.
• Chairmaker’s rush, common threesquare, Schoenoplectus pungens, scattered nearly statewide, but more common in southern Missouri. Lives in a range of wet habitats: along streams, lakes and ponds, and in sloughs, ditches, gravel bars, fens, and marshes; sometimes it grows in shallow water. It is variable, and it is quite similar to its close relatives S. deltarum and S. americanus.
• Great bulrush, softstem bulrush, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, scattered to locally common statewide, with a large global distribution. An emergent aquatic on river banks, margins of ponds and lakes, marshes, sloughs, and bottomland prairies; also in wet depressions along roadsides. One of the most common bulrushes in Missouri. Native Americans used this plant as food, drying and grinding the stout, starchy rootstocks into a flour, and eating the young shoots raw or boiled.
• River bulrush, Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, scattered nearly statewide; robust; forms large, dense colonies in floodplains of large rivers. Has stout, 3-angled, leafy stems that can be more than ½ inch in diameter at the base.

Similar species: Keep in mind that, although it is used for at least eight genera in the sedge family, the term “bulrush” is a common name that is used for other plants besides the current and past members of genus Scirpus. For example:

• Several species in other sedge genera are called “bulrushes,” though they’ve never been in genus Scirpus. One famous example is the sedge Cyperus papyrus, the papyrus sedge, which is native to Africa and famously used for making paper and basketry in ancient Egypt.
• Some people call cattails (Typha spp.) “bulrushes,” but they’re in a different family.
• The root of the word “bulrush” — the word “rush” — usually refers to plants in the rush family (Juncaceae). But bulrushes are in the sedge family.

To many people, three different plant families — the sedges (family Cyperaceae), rushes (Juncaceae), and grasses (Poaceae) — are a confusing grasslike jumble, so these families are often discussed loosely as “graminoids” (grassy plants). To help you remember which is which, here’s one version of the famous rhyme: “Sedges have edges / Rushes are round / Grasses are hollow with nodes — Which have you found?”