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Muehlenberg's Nutrush

Scleria muehlenbergii

Found in open wet sand, pine savannas and flatwoods, depression meadows, cypress savannas, limesink ponds, bogs. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

20
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 4 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or perennial
Bloom
June to September

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 26 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

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
Wet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 73 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Scleria

  • Cosmopterix clemensella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
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
Green or brown

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Muehlenbergs Nut Rush

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources