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American Bur-reed

Sparganium americanum

Found in streams, marshes, ponds, pools, spring branches, often submerged. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

40
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
About 3.2 feet
Light
Partial sun, Full sun
Soil moisture
High
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to September
Fruiting season
Spring to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 91 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

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.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 130 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Sparganium

  • Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
  • Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Nymphalis antiopaMourning Cloak
  • Parapoynx badiusalisChestnut-Marked Pondweed Moth
  • Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
  • Parapoynx seminealisFloating-Heart Waterlilly Moth, Waterlily Casebearer
  • Plusia putnamiPutnam's Looper Moth, Lempke's Gold Spot
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
8BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
  • Anas platyrhynchosMallard
  • Anas rubripesAmerican Black Duck
  • Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Branta canadensisCanada Goose
  • Cygnus olorMute Swan
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
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
Typhaceae
Flower color
Green
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads to form colonies
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Spring
Fruit ends
Fall

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Spreads to form colonies” · 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 3.2 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
  • Light · “Partial sun (minimum requirement); Full sun (minimum requirement)” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
  • Soil · “High” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
Also known as

American Bur Reed

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
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

  • Forms colonies. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as colonizing. USDA PLANTS

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

Sources