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Blackfruit Spikerush

Eleocharis melanocarpa

Found in Coastal Plain ponds, cypress meadows, sinkhole ponds in the Shenandoah Valley. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

34
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 28 inches
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet
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 1 Mississippi county.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Ponds, lakes and their shores

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

Meadows

Open, grassy or flowery ground that is not wet, such as mountain meadows; wet meadows are separate.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 50 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (39)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Mississippi

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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.

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 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.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cyperaceae
Flower color
Brown
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Mississippi rankS1
Global rankG4
MS 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

Sources