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Pale Spike Rush

Eleocharis olivacea var. olivacea

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in Coastal Plain ponds, pools, other wet, sandy or peaty habitats. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status unresolved in Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 65%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
June to September

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 4 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

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

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Eleocharis

  • Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
  • Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
  • Donacaula dispersella
  • Thopeutis forbesellus
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist 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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cyperaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Olive Spike Rush

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNR
Global rankNot available
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources