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Beaked Spikerush

Eleocharis rostellata

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in brackish and freshwater tidal marshes, sea-level fens; saline soils inland. Calcareous fens northward. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
About 3 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet 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

Bloom
July to September
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 3 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

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

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 78 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (15)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Louisiana

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)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
11BirdsRecorded eating Eleocharis in Louisiana

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.

Show all 11
Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

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 Eleocharis 11

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cyperaceae
Flower color
Green
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Louisiana rankS1
Global rankG5
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources