Common Spike Rush is a tufted perennial sedge native to North America that grows 1-2 feet tall and wide in marshes, ditches, and along water bodies. It has slender hollow stems when in water and solid stems when dry, topped with an attractive flowering head that resembles a small pinecone. It is a fast-growing and hardy plant that provides good bank stabilization and wildlife habitat. Common Spike Rush thrives with seasonal flooding but can tolerate year-round flooding or summer drought, requires full sun to full shade, and is easy to grow and propagate.

1. Common Spike Rush – Eleocharis macrostachya (palustris)
(ee-lee-OH-kuh-ris macro-STACK-ee-uh
Family: Cyperaceae (Sedge Family)
Native to: Much of North America; in marshes, roadside ditches, and along stream banks, lakeshores,
river bottoms, and in wet meadows and flood areas.
Growth characteristics: tufted perennial sedge mature height: 1-2 ft. mature width: 1-2 ft.
Slender stems singular or in small clusters. Will continue to grow if the water rises slowly forming a dense
clump (rhizomatous). Bright green foliage that looks like a minature rush, or a funny-looking lawn grass.
Attractive even when dry. The stems are hollow when the plant is in water (to transport air to roots) and
solid when the ground is dry.
Blooms/fruits: Blooms June-Sept. Flowering stalk rises above the foliage. Flowering head looks
somewhat like a small pinecone at the tip of the flowering stalk. Attractive.
Uses in the garden: Fast-growing and hardy. Dense roots good for bank stabilization (streams and
ponds). Attractive addition to constructed wetland, vernal swales or along the edges of an artificial ponds
or water gardens. Roots fix nitrogen. Plant is allelopathic (toxic) to some other plants.
Sensible substitute for: Non-native sedges and rushes used around ponds/pools.
Attracts: Excellent bird habitat: provides cover and seeds for food. Small mammals use for shelter.
Requirements:
Element Requirement
Sun Full sun to full shade (better with some sun)
Soil Any, including alkaline and sandy
Water Requires seasonal flooding and can tolerate year-round flooding or summer drought
Fertilizer None required
Other
Management: Easy to grow. Grows best with fluctuating water levels. Spreads by rhizomes. Can clip
dead leaves or leave on plant – quite attractive.
Propagation: from seed: easy; Seeds germinate in standing water. by divisions: easy
Plant/seed sources (see list for source numbers): 2, 3, 10, 13, 16 1/9/06
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2. Eleocharis macrostachya (formerly E. palustris)
Common spikerush