Common Spikerush

Eleocharis palustris

native · Central Texas

Common Spikerush is a grass native to Central Texas that grows 1.5 ft tall. It wants full sun or part shade and high water. Blooms brown in late spring. Good for birds.

Wet ground only. A wetland plant: it needs standing water or saturated soil — a pond edge, creek bank or rain garden, not a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

5 sources

Type: Grass
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water: High
Height: About 1.5 ft
Bloom: Late Spring · brown
Foliage: Deciduous or dies back in winter
Wildlife: Supports birds

Where it grows

79 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.