Schoenoplectus americanus Chairmaker's Bulrush
General
This bulrush grows well in fresh or brackish water and can spread via rhizomes, making it a good choice for salt marsh restoration projects. Seeds will provide food for waterfowl, and the rhizomes are sometimes eaten by muskrats.
Plant Description
Growing to 4' tall. Sharply triangular stems with deep ridges. Usually three or four leaves growing fairly low on the stem. Flowers are spikelets, usually brownish in color, and grow from the side of the stalk several inches below the top.
Height (ft)
4'
Soil moisture
Wet
Soil types
Peat
Wetland indicator
OBL
Shade tolerance
Tolerance
Bloom color
Brown
Bloom period
Spring and Summer
Drought tolerance
Low
Salinity tolerance
Yes
Distribution
Along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, from Massachusetts to Florida, and along the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas. Some populations on the shores of the Great Lakes. Common throughout the Western US from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast.
Additional information
Brown, Lauren. Grasses: An Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York City, 1979. LINK
Fassett, Norman C. A Manual of Aquatic Plants, First Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1940. LINK
Garbisch, Edgar W., and McIninch, Suzanne M. Propagation of Wetland Plants: Herbaceous Plants, Shrubs and Trees. Environmental Concern, Inc. 2003. LINK
Harris, James G., and Harris, Melinda Woolf. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, Second Edition. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah. 2011. LINK
Hitchcock, A.S., and Chase, Agnes. Manual of the Grasses of the United States, Second Edition, Volume I. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1971. LINK
Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press) LINK
McKenny, Margaret and Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968. LINK
Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Laurence Newcomb, Mexico. 1977. LINK
USDA, NRCS. 2021. PLANTS Database (https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/, 08/20/2021). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. LINK
https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=SCAM6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoenoplectus_americanus
https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/schame/all.html
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SCAM6
