Botanical name: Eleocharis palustris    Family: Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Synonyms: Cyperus palustris, Scirpus palustris, Trichophyllum palustre

Common Spike-Rush is a perennial herb native to marshes, wet meadows, springs, rivers, pond/lake margins, shores, ditches and brackish waters. The species name palustris means loving marshes. Round, upright, green stems rise singly or in clusters from plant rhizomes. Stems appear leafless - true leaves are bladeless reddish sheaths clustered at the base of each stem. Stems may grow to as much as 4 ft tall. The stems provide the photosynthesis for the plant. Each stem is topped by a solitary spikelet of inprominent greenish-brown flowers. Flowers are followed by conical scaly yellow-brown seedheads. Marsh Spike-Rush is found throughout the Temperate Northern Hemisphere to the Himalaya, up to altitudes of about 4000 m. Flowering: June-September.

Your name:
Your email:
Your comments
The flower labeled Marsh Spike-Rush is ...