Large Spike Rush
Eleocharis macrostachya
Found in wet ditches, marshes, shorelines. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 53%
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
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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
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 6 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Eleocharis
- Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
- Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
- Donacaula dispersella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
10BirdsRecorded eating Eleocharis in Mississippi
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.
- Ring-necked Duck5 diet records
- SoraSeeds. 4 diet records
- American CootSeeds. 3 diet records
- GadwallLeaves. 3 diet records
- Snow GooseLeaves. 3 diet records
- American WigeonSeeds. 2 diet records
- Sandhill CraneSeeds. 2 diet records
- American Black DuckSeeds. 1 diet record
- Canada GooseLeaves. 1 diet record
- Red-winged Blackbird1 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 Eleocharis 10
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- SoraPorzana carolina
- American CootFulica americana
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Snow GooseChen caerulescens
- American WigeonAnas americana
- Sandhill CraneGrus canadensis
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| MS 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Mississippi 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