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Bighead Rush

Juncus megacephalus

Found in brackish and freshwater marshes, bogs, wet prairies, interdune swales, ditches, wet, open places. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

49
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
About 3.1 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to 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

Bloom
June to August
Fruiting season
Summer

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 4

Prairies and grasslands

Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020
Barrens grassland after a prescribed fire. Shown: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020, NPS Photo / Rick Olson, September 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Juncus

  • Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
  • Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
  • Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
  • Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
  • Coleophora cratipennellaStreaked Coleophora
  • Globia subflavaYellow Sedge Borer, Yellowish Nonagria, Subflava Sedge Borer
  • Xylena nuperaRed Swordgrass Moth, American Swordgrass Moth, False Armyworm
  • Coleophora fagicorticella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Juncus

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Alectoris chukarChukar
  • Anas acutaNorthern Pintail
  • Coturnicops noveboracensisYellow Rail
  • Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
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
Juncaceae
Flower color
Green
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Summer
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “June to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Height · “About 3.1 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Virginia rankS2
Global rankG4G5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources