Gulf Coast Spikerush
Eleocharis cellulosa
Found in fresh to brackish interdune swale ponds on barrier islands, marl prairies, depression ponds, salt marshes, other disturbed wet sandy habitats. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- About 2.6 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Wet to standing water
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- June and November
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 34 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Depression ponds and limesinks
Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.
Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 196 animals.
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Reddish EgretEgretta rufescens
- RedheadAythya americana
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus caudacutus
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Shiny CowbirdMolothrus bonariensis
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopus
- Surf ScoterMelanitta perspicillata
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Whooping CraneGrus americana
- WilletTringa semipalmata
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Eleocharis
- Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
- Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
- Donacaula dispersella
- Eoparargyractis floridalis
- Thopeutis forbesellus
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
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
- Green
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to early November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · 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 · “Grows in clumps” · 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 2.6 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S4S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| FL 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 Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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