Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla
formerly Scirpus maritimus
alkali bullrush · snygras, snyruigte (Afr.)
Photo: AVNPlants
Quick-growing sedge with golden-brown spikelets; copes with brackish and alkaline water (maritimus means "of the seaside").
What’s in the name: Bolboschoenus: Greek "bulb" + Schoenus (a rush), for the swollen corm-like base; maritimus: "of the seaside".
“Hope and the future for me are not in lawns and cultivated fields, not in towns and cities, but in the impervious and quaking swamps.”
— Henry David Thoreau, Walking – Henry David Thoreau, Walking (1862), Project Gutenberg
Available from AVNPlants: see the availability list.
Family
Cyperaceae
Conservation status
Least Concern, SANBI Red List of South African Plants
Natural distribution & habitat
Found worldwide. In South Africa from the Cape Peninsula northwards, in marshy flats, seasonal and permanent wetlands, pond edges and estuaries.
Size & form
Perennial sedge to about 1.2 m, each shoot growing from a corm linked by underground rhizomes.
Flowering
October to March: flower stems top the leaves with clusters of golden-brown, egg-shaped spikelets.
Uses in landscaping
- Wetland gardens and pond edges; also in shallow water
- Coastal and saline sites where few plants survive
Care notes
Any soil kept wet, in sun. Plant corms/rhizomes about 20 cm deep. Divide young rhizomes, or sow seed in a pot stood in a few centimetres of water.
Wildlife value
Wind-pollinated; some water birds eat the seed and help spread it.
Find out more
In the garden
Facts checked against: SANBI PlantZAfrica species page 'Bolboschoenus maritimus'; SANBI Red List of South African Plants, Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla (assessment 2006/05/17).