Also called Nodding Bulrush, this native wetland sedge has leafy stems and branching clusters that droop as they develop.
Rufous Bulrush. Select the photograph to enlarge it.
Family: Cyperaceae
Life cycle: Perennial
Height: 2–4 feet
Habitat: Wet meadows, shores, swamp margins and wet ditches
Explore reported observations. Sightings are not a complete range map.
Look in wet meadows, shores, swamp margins and wet ditches. Compare developing flower heads with mature fruiting plants.
Woolgrass and related nodding bulrushes can resemble it. Check scale midribs and their short projecting tips with magnification.
Small reddish-brown spikelets hold the flowers and later the fruits. Close inspection of the scales is more useful than overall color alone.
Leaves alternate along smooth, rounded stems. Short rhizomes produce clumps containing flowering and nonflowering shoots.
2 field photographs. Select a photograph to enlarge it.
Explore submitted observations for a view of this species’ reported distribution.
Observation maps show submitted records, not every place the plant occurs. Follow local access rules when visiting a site.
Explore more grasses, sedges and rushes in the field guide.
Photographs and species identifications: Brian Woolman, Where’s Wildlife.
Minnesota Wildflowers: Rufous Bulrush · Missouri Department of Conservation: Bulrushes
Spotted a possible identification error or have an observation to share? Leave a comment below. For an ID correction, include the photo filename and the features that support your suggestion.