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Plant Guide

Eleocharis palustris (L.) Roemer & J.A. Schultes
common spikerush
ELPA3

Summary

Duration

Perennial

Growth Habit

Graminoid

U.S. Nativity

Native to U.S.

Federal T/E Status

 

National Wetland Indicator

OBL

 

Morphology/Physiology

Active Growth Period

Spring

After Harvest Regrowth Rate

None

Bloat

None

C:N Ratio

High

Coppice Potential

No

Fall Conspicuous

No

Fire Resistant

Yes

Flower Color

Brown

Flower Conspicuous

No

Foliage Color

Dark Green

Foliage Porosity Summer

Moderate

Foliage Porosity Winter

Porous

Foliage Texture

Fine

Fruit/Seed Color

Brown

Fruit/Seed Conspicuous

No

Growth Form

Rhizomatous

Growth Rate

Moderate

Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)

 

Height, Mature (feet)

1.3

Known Allelopath

No

Leaf Retention

No

Lifespan

Moderate

Low Growing Grass

No

Nitrogen Fixation

 

Resprout Ability

No

Shape and Orientation

Erect

Toxicity

None

 

Growth Requirements

Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils

Yes

Adapted to Fine Textured Soils

Yes

Adapted to Medium Textured Soils

No

Anaerobic Tolerance

High

CaCO3 Tolerance

Medium

Cold Stratification Required

No

Drought Tolerance

Low

Fertility Requirement

Medium

Fire Tolerance

Medium

Frost Free Days, Minimum

100

Hedge Tolerance

None

Moisture Use

High

pH, Minimum

4

pH, Maximum

8

Planting Density per Acre, Minimum

11000

Planting Density per Acre, Maximum

19000

Precipitation, Minimum

16

Precipitation, Maximum

60

Root Depth, Minimum (inches)

14

Salinity Tolerance

Low

Shade Tolerance

Intolerant

Temperature, Minimum (°F)

-38

 

Reproduction

Bloom Period

Late Spring

Commercial Availability

Routinely Available

Fruit/Seed Abundance

Medium

Fruit/Seed Period Begin

Fall

Fruit/Seed Period End

Summer

Fruit/Seed Persistence

No

Propagated by Bare Root

No

Propagated by Bulb

No

Propagated by Container

No

Propagated by Corm

No

Propagated by Cuttings

No

Propagated by Seed

Yes

Propagated by Sod

No

Propagated by Sprigs

Yes

Propagated by Tubers

No

Seed per Pound

 

Seed Spread Rate

Moderate

Seedling Vigor

Medium

Small Grain

No

Vegetative Spread Rate

Moderate

 

Suitability/Use

Berry/Nut/Seed Product

No

Christmas Tree Product

No

Fodder Product

No

Fuelwood Product

None

Lumber Product

No

Naval Store Product

No

Nursery Stock Product

No

Palatable Browse Animal

 

Palatable Graze Animal

Low

Palatable Human

No

Post Product

No

Protein Potential

 

Pulpwood Product

No

Veneer Product

No

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Liliopsida -- Monocotyledons

Subclass  Commelinidae

Order  Cyperales

Family  Cyperaceae -- Sedge family

Genus  Eleocharis R. Br. -- spikerush P

Species  Eleocharis palustris (L.) Roemer & J.A. Schultes -- common spikerush P

 

Alternate Names

Eleocharis macrostachya, common spikerush

 

Uses

Wildlife and Livestock: Creeping spikerush has a moderately high protein content in the spring and good digestibility.  The tops are heavily grazed by both livestock and big game animals, especially after the seeds have ripened.  It produces nesting cover for waterfowl and ducks eat the seeds and geese graze the shoots.

 

Conservation Uses: This species has utility for erosion control, constructed wetland system applications, wildlife food and cover, wetland creation and restoration, and for increasing plant diversity in wetland and riparian communities.  Its dense root mass makes this species an excellent choice for soil stabilization in riparian and wetland sites.  The rhizomes also form a matrix for many beneficial bacteria making this plant an excellent choice for wastewater treatment.

 

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

 

Description

General: Sedge Family (Cyperaceae).  Creeping spikerush is a perennial, heavily rhizomatous wetland plant that is found from low to mid elevations.  It has a dense root mass that extends deeper that 40 cm in the soil profile.  The stems are singular or in small clusters and it will continue to grow to keep the heads out of the water if the water rises slowly.  The stems are upright, round, and may reach 1.2 m in height (height is dependent on the depth of water in the growing environment).  The leaves are reduced to sheaths clustered at the base of the stems.  The flowers are borne in a terminal spikelet, 1 flower per scale with 2 stigmas.  Plants typically flower from June through September.  The seeds are yellow to brown lenticular achenes, 1.5-2.5 mm long including tubercle, and subtended by up to 8 bristles.  The seed ripens in late August to October.  Seeds are held tightly in the seed head for a long period of time.

 

Distribution: It is found from the West Coast of the US, east to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and  south to Louisiana.  For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

 

Adaptation

It grows in wet meadows, irrigation ditches, springs, seepage areas, freshwater marshes, rivers, and along lakeshores.  It is a pioneering species that populates mud flats very quickly as the water draws down.  It can grow in areas that are flooded in the spring and saturated in the fall.  It can grow in flooded conditions where the water is up to one meter deep for most of the growing season.  It is a wetland obligate plant.  It grows on fine texture soils in neutral to alkaline or saline conditions.  It spreads rapidly by rhizomes and occasionally seed.  It will spread into areas that are too deep for seedling establishment.  It will develop a thick root mass that is resistant to compaction and erosion.  However, its roots grow less deeply than Nebraska sedge (Carex nebrascensis).  It can fix atmospheric nitrogen and make it available to other plants in the wetland community.

 

Creeping spikerush grows on sites that are either permanently flooded or seasonally flooded.  The plants can grow and thrive in permanent water up to 1 m deep or they can survive in areas where the water table drops to 30 cm below the surface late in the season.  Creeping Spikerush grows in areas that can be totally inundated for up to 3-4 months.

 

Seeds and Plant Production

Collection and cleaning: Seeds may be collected by hand striping the seed from the plant or clipping it using a pair of hand shears.  A power seed harvester may also be used.

 

The hammer mill is used to break up the large debris and knock the seed loose from the stem.  Cleaning can be accomplished using a seed cleaner with a No. 12 top screen and a solid bottom screen.  Screens should be sized so desired seed will fall through and debris and weed seed are removed.  Air velocity should be adjusted so chaff is blown away.  Air flow and screen size may require adjustment to optimize cleaning process for given situation.

 

Special Precautions: The germination rate may be enhanced by lightly scarifying the seed and then stratifying the seed in a mixture of water and sphagnum moss at 2°C for 30-45 days.

 

Greenhouse: Seeds need light, moisture, and heat for germination.  Place the seeds on the surface of the soil and press in lightly to assure good soil contact.  Do not cover the seed.  Soil should be kept moist.  The greenhouse should be kept hot (32°C to 38°C).  Germination should begin within about one to two weeks.  Maintain the moisture until the plants are transplanted.

 

Wild transplants: Wild plants can be collected and transplanted directly into the desired site. As long as no more than 4 dm2, 13-15 cm deep, is removed from any 1 meter square area, the hole will fill in within one growing season.  Care should be taken not to collect plants from weedy areas as these weeds can be relocated to the transplant site, and the hole left at the collection site may fill with undesirable species.

 

Establishment

Planting plugs (either from the greenhouse or wild transplants) is the surest way to establish a new stand of this species.  Plug spacing of 30-45 cm will fill in within one growing season.  The soil should be kept saturated.  Allow no more than 8 cm of standing water at any time during the first growing season.  Fluctuating the water level during the establishment year will speed the spread of the plants.  Water levels should be managed to enhance rhizome spread.

 

Management

Standing water should be no deeper than 1 m and should fluctuate throughout the growing season.  If deeper water levels are desirable, increase the depth slowly over the course of the growing season.  This species can tolerate periods of drought and total inundation.  Water levels can be managed to enhance or reduce spread as well as control terrestrial weeds.

 

Pests and Potential Problems

Few insect or disease problems have been encountered in the greenhouse.  Aphids will feed on the stems, but little or no damage has been noted and the vigor of the plant has not been affected.

 

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information.  Look in the phone book under ”United States Government”.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

 

References

USDA NRCS. Wetlant plant fact sheet – creeping spikerush (Eleocharis palustris). Interagency Riparian/Wetland Project, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, Idaho.

 

Prepared By:

Dan Ogle, USDA NRCS Idaho State Office, Boise, Idaho.

 

Species Coordinator:

Dan Ogle, USDA NRCS Idaho State Office, Boise, Idaho.

 

Edited: 28sep05 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>


 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture 

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