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Wolf's Spikerush

Eleocharis wolfii

Found in oak flatwoods, shallow ephemeral pools on granitic flatrocks, prairies, barrens, swales, savannas. Great Lakes dunes further northward. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

34
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 16 inches
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to July

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Solution pits, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County
Solution pits on granite. Shown: Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Solution pits, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Prairies and grasslands

Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County
Limestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 85 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Eleocharis

  • Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
  • Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
  • Eoparargyractis floridalis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
14BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Eleocharis

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
  • Anas rubripesAmerican Black Duck
  • Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
  • Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Branta canadensisCanada Goose
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
Show all 14
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
  • Mareca streperaGadwall
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Spatula cyanopteraCinnamon Teal
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cyperaceae
Flower color
Green or brown
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Height · “Up to about 16 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Wolfs Spike Rush

Conservation status

Alabama rankS1
Global rankG3G5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources