Scirpus microcarpus

Flat, arching, shiny green, grass-like blades form upright, mat-forming clumps. Ornamental seed heads. Often used as nesting sites for water fowl. Native plant of the Pacific Northwest. Bulrush is easily grown in any well-drained soil, with regular water. Great habitat for birds. Heavy rhizomes aid in soil stabilization.

A perennial bulrush growing to 5' tall.Multiple stems emerge from each plump rhizome. The rhizomes are oblong and have thick, rough skins, resembling arrowroot. Found along wet to moisture retentive ground, such as pond margins, marshes, wet meadows, and streambanks. Can grow in both full sun and shady conditions. Flowers May to August. Native to California and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond. Provides valuable food and nesting material for wildlife. Birds of all types frequent and depend it. Small animals such as turtles, muskrats, snakes, and amphibians seek refuge in the dense growth of this plant. Okanagan, used this rush for weaving berry baskets. It was also used as a decorative addition to clothing. When steaming foods in a fire, the leaves were sometimes laid under and on top of the food. Found in often grows in marshes, lake edges, swamps, wet meadows, forested wetlands, sloughs, and along stream banks. Communitites located in Yellow Pine Forest, Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Forest, Subalpine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, Valley Grassland, Wetland-riparian Between 0 and 9,000 feet.