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Robbins's Spikerush

Eleocharis robbinsii

Found in quiet waters of limesink (doline) ponds, natural lakes, millponds and semipermanent impoundments. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

34
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 28 inches
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

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to August

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 2 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
14BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Eleocharis

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
  • Anas rubripesAmerican Black Duck
  • Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
  • Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Branta canadensisCanada Goose
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
Show all 14
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
  • Mareca streperaGadwall
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Spatula cyanopteraCinnamon Teal
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cyperaceae
Flower color
Not applicable
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “July to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Height · “Up to about 28 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG4
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources