American Bur-reed
Sparganium americanum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in streams, marshes, ponds, pools, spring branches, often submerged. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- About 3.2 feet
- Light
- Partial sun, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- High
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to September
- Fruiting season
- Spring to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 20 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 44 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (75)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Baltimore Oriole
- Bank Swallow
- Belted Kingfisher
- Bewick's Wren
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Canada Goose
- Carolina Chickadee
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Wood-pewee
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hermit Thrush
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Lincoln's Sparrow
- Mallard
- Mississippi Kite
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tree Swallow
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Sparganium
- Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
- Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Globia laetaRed Sedge Borer Moth
- Nymphalis antiopaMourning Cloak
- Parapoynx badiusalisChestnut-Marked Pondweed Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded eating Sparganium in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- American Black DuckSeeds. 2 diet records
- American CootSeeds. 2 diet records
- MallardSeeds. 2 diet records
- Ring-necked DuckSeeds. 2 diet records
- Sandhill CraneSeeds. 2 diet records
- Canada GooseLeaves. 1 diet record
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Sparganium 6
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American CootFulica americana
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Sandhill CraneGrus canadensis
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
Plant details
- Family
- Typhaceae
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads to form colonies
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads to form colonies” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 3.2 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial sun (minimum requirement); Full sun (minimum requirement)” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
- Soil · “High” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
Also known as
American Bur Reed
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.
Growing cautions
- Forms colonies. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as colonizing. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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