Common Three Square Bulrush
Schoenoplectus pungens
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- Up to about 6 feet
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 14 Arkansas counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 131 animals.
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Harris's SparrowZonotrichia querula
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Mississippi KiteIctinia mississippiensis
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Scirpus
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
- Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
- Euphyes dionDion Skipper, Sedge Skipper
- Globia oblongaOblong Sedge Borer Moth, Large Noagria
- Ledaea perditalisLost Owlet, 3-Stripe Cephalanthus caterpillar, Buttonbush Owlet
- Donacaula dispersella
27BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Scirpus
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
- Aythya americanaRedhead
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Aythya marilaGreater Scaup
- Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
- Bucephala clangulaCommon Goldeneye
- Bucephala islandicaBarrow's Goldeneye
Show all 27
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Cygnus buccinatorTrumpeter Swan
- Cygnus columbianusTundra Swan
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
- Loxia curvirostraRed Crossbill
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Oxyura jamaicensisRuddy Duck
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
- Spatula cyanopteraCinnamon Teal
- Spizelloides arboreaAmerican Tree Sparrow
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
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
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Red or brown
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Red or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 6 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Chairmakers Rush
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























