SOFT STEM BULRUSH
Scirpus validus - Cyperaceae, Sedge Family
DESCRIPTION: Tall, reed-like, colony forming perennial
Height: To 9 feet
Flowers: Light to reddish-brown spikelets 1/8 inch wide and 1/2 inch long in
hanging clusters or tassels, late winter through fall
Fruit: Achene 2-sided
Foliage: Obscure
Growth rate: Slow to moderate
REQUIREMENTS:
Sun: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Salty, sandy or clay soils
Drainage: Poor
Water: Flooded to moist
Maintenance: Little needed
Propagation: Seeds
NATIVE HABITAT: Coastal prairies and marshes near the coast and inland
WILDLIFE USE: Birds eat parts of the flowers. Ducks eat seed. Muskrats and nutria eat culm bases, rhizomes, and shoots.
COMMENTS: This bulrush has rounded, triangular, light-green, smooth, spongy-soft stems that are 1 inch wide at the base.
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