Hardstem Bulrush
Schoenoplectus acutus
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- Culms are slender and erect, usually 3.3 to 10 feet tall, but occasionally reaching heights of 16.5 feet [24,27,38,45,48].
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
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 · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
County records are not available.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 87 animals.
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Scirpus
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Bactra furfuranaRush Bactra
- Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
- Globia oblongaOblong Sedge Borer Moth, Large Noagria
- Globia subflavaYellow Sedge Borer, Yellowish Nonagria, Subflava Sedge Borer
- Ledaea perditalisLost Owlet, 3-Stripe Cephalanthus caterpillar, Buttonbush Owlet
- Meropleon diversicolorMulticolored Sedgeminer
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
- Pink, green or brown
What its natural habitat tells you
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Pink, green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Culms are slender and erect, usually 3.3 to 10 feet (1-3 m) tall, but occasionally reaching heights of 16.5 feet (5 m) [24,27,38,45,48].” · Fire Effects Information System: Schoenoplectus acutus (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs) · Source botanical description; original units and scope retained
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Scirpus acutus; bulrush
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV 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
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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