Common Three Square Bulrush
Schoenoplectus pungens
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- Up to about 6 feet
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 3 Mississippi counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 108 animals.
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Royal TernThalasseus maximus
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Snow GooseChen caerulescens
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- White-faced IbisPlegadis chihi
- Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Yellow RailCoturnicops noveboracensis
- American AvocetRecurvirostra americana
- American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus
Widespread birds also seen here (24)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- Bald Eagle
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Chimney Swift
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Fish Crow
- Great Horned Owl
- Hooded Merganser
- Northern Cardinal
- Osprey
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Turkey Vulture
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Scirpus
- Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
- Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
- Euphyes dionDion Skipper, Sedge Skipper
- Globia oblongaOblong Sedge Borer Moth, Large Noagria
- Ledaea perditalisLost Owlet, 3-Stripe Cephalanthus caterpillar, Buttonbush Owlet
- Neonympha areolataGeorgia Satyr, Helicta Satyr
- Neonympha mitchelliiMitchell's Satyr
- Bactra maiorina
- Cosmopterix attenuatella
- Cosmopterix ebriola
Show all 12
- Cosmopterix scirpicola
- Donacaula dispersella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
7BirdsRecorded eating Schoenoplectus 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.
- SoraSeeds. 12 diet records
- CanvasbackSeeds and roots. 3 diet records
- Snow GooseRoots. 2 diet records
- MallardSeeds. 2 diet records
- Northern PintailSeeds. 2 diet records
- Virginia RailSeeds. 2 diet records
- Lesser ScaupSeeds. 1 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 Schoenoplectus 7
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- SoraPorzana carolina
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Snow GooseChen caerulescens
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Red or brown
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Red or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 6 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Chairmakers Rush
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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