River Bulrush
Bolboschoenus fluviatilis
Found in freshwater tidal marshes, river marshes, marl marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- Up to about 6 feet
- Light
- Sun
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
Not yet recorded · Spread · Soil · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 7 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 151 animals.
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Henslow's SparrowAmmodramus henslowii
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- King RailRallus elegans
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
Who uses this plant?
13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Scirpus
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
- Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
- Euphyes dionDion Skipper, Sedge Skipper
- Globia oblongaOblong Sedge Borer Moth, Large Noagria
- Globia subflavaYellow Sedge Borer, Yellowish Nonagria, Subflava Sedge Borer
- Helotropha reniformisAmerican Crescent Borer, Reniform Celaena, Reniform Helotropha
- Ledaea perditalisLost Owlet, 3-Stripe Cephalanthus caterpillar, Buttonbush Owlet
- Meropleon diversicolorMulticolored Sedgeminer
- Neonympha mitchelliiMitchell's Satyr
Show all 13
- Bactra maiorina
- Cosmopterix scirpicola
- Donacaula dispersella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
27BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Scirpus
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
- Aythya americanaRedhead
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Aythya marilaGreater Scaup
- Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
- Bucephala clangulaCommon Goldeneye
- Bucephala islandicaBarrow's Goldeneye
Show all 27
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Cygnus buccinatorTrumpeter Swan
- Cygnus columbianusTundra Swan
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
- Loxia curvirostraRed Crossbill
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Oxyura jamaicensisRuddy Duck
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
- Spatula cyanopteraCinnamon Teal
- Spizelloides arboreaAmerican Tree Sparrow
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Brown
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “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
- Light · “Sun” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
River Bul Rush
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| VA 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
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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