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Twig-rush

Cladium mariscoides

Found in salt and brackish marshes; seeps and springs; Coastal Plain seepage bogs; sandhills; Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated); Coastal dunes and beaches; ponds, lakes and their shores. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

29
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
1 foot 4 inches–3 feet 3 inches
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water
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
July to September

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 4 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 7

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 111 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Cladium

  • Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
  • Euphyes arpaPalmetto Skipper
  • Euphyes pilatkaSawgrass Skipper, Palatka Skipper, Coastal Sedge Skipper, Keys Sawgrass Skipper[for subspecies Euphyes pilatka klotsi]
  • Nola cereellaSorghum Cutworm, Sorghum Webworm Moth, Sorgham Webworm Moth
  • Protodeltote muscosulaLarge Mossy Lithacodia, Large Mossy Glyph, Large Mossy Grass Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
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
Not applicable
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Twig rush

Conservation status

Florida rankS1
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources