Schoenoplectus mucronatus

Rough-seed bulrush, rice-field bulrush, Rice-Field Bulrush

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Rough-seed bulrush is a naturalized perennial herb found in northern California regions including the North Coast Ranges, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California coastal areas in fresh ponds and rice fields at elevations of 20 to 400 meters. Flowering from summer to fall, this plant produces small spikelets 7 to 12 millimeters long with subtle flower bracts. Growing with robust stems 40 to 100 centimeters tall, it has sharp three-sided stems approximately 2 to 3 millimeters in diameter. Its unique stem structure lacks leaf blades, instead featuring sheath-like bases that do not split, with spreading inflorescence bracts 1 to 10 centimeters long. The fruit is distinctive, featuring many wavy transverse ridges and generally appearing black, with small fruits 1.7 to 2.2 millimeters long.

Habitat: Uncommon. Fresh ponds, rice fields

Bloom period: Summer-fall

Elevation: 20-400 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, NCoRI, CaRF, n SNH, ScV, SnFrB, SCo, WTR

California counties: Butte, Tehama, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Yuba, Humboldt, Glenn, Colusa, Sutter

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.