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| ## California bulrush {#california-bulrush .Title-Header}             |
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| *Schoenoplectus californicus* (C.A. Mey.) Palla                       |
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| Plant Symbol = SCCA11                                                 |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & the Idaho Plant
Materials Center

**Alternate Names**

Bulrush, tule, black root. Known in most floras as *Scirpus
californicus*.

## 

## Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: Bulrush is similar to the cattail in edibility, although
it is purportedly sweeter. Young shoots coming up in the spring can be
eaten raw or cooked. Bulrush pollen is eaten as flour in bread, mush or
pancakes. Later in the season, the seeds can be beaten off into baskets
or pails, ground into a similar meal and used as flour. The large
rhizomes are eaten raw or cooked; sometimes they were dried in the sun,
then pounded into a kind of flour. *Schoenoplectus validus* (synonym:
*Scirpus validus*)*,* a similar species, has as much as 8% sugar and
5.5% starch in rhizomes, but less than 1% protein (Harrington 1972).

The rhizome (underground stem) is used for the black element in basket
design. Rhizomes are obtained by digging around the plant and following
them out from the parent plant. Often the green stalks are cut, to make
the rooting area more accessible. Bulrushes are called black root by
Pomo basketweavers in California; the cream-colored rhizome is dyed
black for basketry designs.

Tule houses were common throughout many parts of California with the
overlapping tule matters being well-insulated and rain-proof. Willow
poles, arched and anchored into the ground and tied with cordage or
bark, formed the framework. The walls were thatched with mats of tule or
cattail and secured to the frame. In Nevada, tules and willows were
bound together in a sort of crude weaving for \"Kani\", the Paiute name
for summerhouse.

Tules and cattails were used as insulating thatch for structures,
matting, bedding, and roofing materials. Shredded tule was used for baby
diapers, bedding, and menstrual padding. Women made skirts from tule.
During inclement weather, men wore shredded tule capes, which tied
around the neck and was belted at the waist. Duck decoys were made of
tule. Several California Indian tribes made canoes of tule stems bound
together with vines from wild grape. Groups located near the California
coast used tule to make large round mud-shoes so they could walk without
sinking.

*Other Uses*: Streambank stabilization, wetland restoration, wildlife
food and shelter, edible (young shoots, pollen, seeds, rhizomes), and
matting. These native plants are especially good for stabilizing or
restoring disturbed or degraded (including logged or burned) areas, for
erosion and slope control, and for wildlife food and cover. Bulrushes
may be less suitable for general garden use.

*Wildlife*: The seeds, being less hairy and larger than cattail, are one
of the most important and commonly used foods of ducks and of certain
marshbirds and shorebirds (Martin et al. 1951). Bulrushes provide choice
food for wetland birds: American widgeon, bufflehead, mallard, pintail,
shoveler, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, greater scaup, lesser scaup,
avocet, marbled godwit, clapper rail, Virginia rail, sora rail,
long-billed dowitcher, and tricolored blackbird. canada geese and
white-fronted geese prefer the shoots and roots. The stems provide
nesting habitat for blackbirds and marsh wrens.

Freshwater emergent wetlands are among the most productive wildlife
habitats in California. They provide food, cover, and water for more
than 160 species of birds and numerous mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
The endangered Santa Cruz long-toed salamander and rare giant garter
snake use these wetlands as primary habitat. The endangered Aleutian
Canada goose, bald eagle, and peregrine falcon use wetlands as feeding
areas and roost sites.

###### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

**Description**

*General*: Sedge Family (Cyperaceae). California bulrush, a perennial
herbaceous plant, is distinguished by long triangular or subterete stems
from 5 to 8 feet tall. The leaves are slender, v-shaped blades that are
sheathed around the long stem. The flowers are arranged in a spikelet
and resemble orange-brown scales. The inflorescence of California
bulrush is a larger and more open panicle than hardstem bulrush, with 20
to many spikelets, and it is consistently a reddish brown color.
Bulrushes have clonal growth, with stout rootstocks and long, thick,
brown rhizomes (underground stems).

# Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site. Bulrushes are often dominant emergent
vegetation found in marshes and wetlands throughout temperate North
America. California bulrush, which often hybridizes with hardstem
bulrush, is abundant in freshwater marshes along the California coast
from San Diego County to Napa County, inland in the Central Valley,
occasional in the Mojave Desert, east to South Carolina, Florida,
temperate South America and the Hawaiian Islands (Hickman 1993).

###### Establishment

*Schoenoplectus* species may be planted from bare rootstock or seedlings
from container stalk or directly seeded into the soil. Germination
problems have been reported in the literature for some *Schoenoplectus*
(synonym: *Scirpus*) species. Consequently, live plant collections of
this species are recommended.

*Live Plant Collections*: No more than 1/4 of the plants in an area
should be collected. If no more than 0.09 m2 (1 ft2) are removed from a
0.4 m2 (4 ft2) area, the plants will grow back into the hole in one good
growing season. A depth of 15 cm (6 in) is sufficiently deep for digging
plugs. This will leave enough plants and rhizomes to grow back during
the growing season. Donor plants that are drought-stressed tend to have
higher re-vegetation success.

Live transplants should be planted as soon as possible in moist (not
flooded or anoxic) soils. Plants should be transported and stored in a
cool location prior to planting. Plugs may be split into smaller units,
generally no smaller than 6 x 6 cm (2.4 x 2.4 in), with healthy rhizomes
and tops. The important factor in live plant collections is to be sure
to include a growing bud in either plugs or rhizomes. Weeds in the plugs
should be removed by hand. Soil can either be left on the roots of
harvested material or removed. For ease in transport, soil may be washed
gently from roots. The roots should always remain moist or in water
until planted.

Clip the leaves and stem from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches). This allows
the plant to allocate more energy into root production. Plant
approximately 1 meter apart. Plants should be planted closer together if
the site has fine soils such as clay or silt, steep slopes, or prolonged
inundation. Don\'t flood plants right away, or the seedlings will
experience high mortality. Get the roots started before flooding soils
if possible. Ideally, plants should be planted in late fall just after
the first rains (usually late October to November). This enables plant
root systems to become established before heavy flooding and winter
dormancy occurs. Survival is highest when plants are dormant and soils
are moist. Fertilization is very helpful for plant growth and
reproduction. Many more seeds are produced with moderate fertilization.

*Seed Collections*:

-   Select seed collection sites where continuous stands with few
    intermixed species can easily be found.

-   At each collection location, obtain permission for seed collection.

Seed is harvested by either taking hand clippers or cutting the stem off
below the seed heads or stripping the seed heads off the stalk.

-   Less than 1/2 hour is required to make a decent collection of 1 to 2
    cups of seed. The ease of collection is affected by water depth.

-   Collect and store seeds in brown paper bags or burlap bags. Dry the
    seeds in these bags.

-   Seeds and seed heads need to be cleaned in a seed cleaner. Plant
    cleaned seed in fall. Plant in clean, weed - free, moist seed bed.
    Flooded or ponded soils will significantly increase seedling
    mortality.

-   Broadcast seed and roll in or rake 1/4\" to 1/2\" from the soil
    surface.

-   Some seed may be lost due to scour or flooding. Recommended seed
    density is unknown at this time.

#####  *Seed germination in greenhouse*:

-   Clean seed - blow out light seed.

-   To germinate seeds, plant in greenhouse in 1\" x 1\" x 2\" pots,
    1/4\" under the soil surface. Keep soil surface moist at a
    temperature of 100 degrees F (plus or minus 5 degrees). Seeds begin
    to germinate after a couple weeks in warm temperatures.

-   Plants are ready in 100 - 120 days to come out as plugs. By planting
    seeds in August, plugs are ready to plant in soil by November. These
    plants are very small; growing plants to a larger size will result
    in increased re-vegetation success.

## Management

Hydrology is the most important factor in determining wetland type,
revegetation, success, and wetland function and value. Changes in water
levels influence species composition, structure, and distribution of
plant communities. Water management is absolutely critical during plant
establishment, and remains crucial through the life of the wetland for
proper community management. Heavy grazing will eliminate
*Schoenoplectus* species as well as other native species.

Muskrats have evolved with wetland ecosystems and form a valuable
component of healthy functioning wetland communities. Muskrats use
emergent wetland vegetation for hut construction and for food. An area
of open water is created around the huts, which increase wetland
diversity by providing opportunities for aquatic vegetation to become
established. Muskrats opening up the dense stands of emergent vegetation
also create habitat for other species. Both beaver and muskrats often
improve wetland habitat.

*Traditional Resource Management*: The plant must grow in
coarse-textured soil that is free of gravel, clay and silt for the roots
to be of the quality necessary for basketweaving. Plants are tended by
gathering rhizomes and reducing plant density. Sustainable harvesting of
plants occurs through limiting harvest in any given area. Fire was also
used to manage tule wetlands; fire eliminated decadent old stems and
restored open water to the wetland. This stimulates growth of new shoots
from rhizomes and provides a bare soil substrate for seed germination.
Many Native Americans feel the use of herbicides is inappropriate in
traditional gathering sites. Bulrush is densely rhizomatous with
abundant seed production. In most cases, it will out-compete other
species within the wetland area of the site, eliminating the need for
manual or chemical control of invasive species.

**Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)**

This species is available from most nurseries within the species range
that handles wetland plants. Contact your local Natural Resources
Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for
more information. Look in the phone book under "United States
Government." The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed
under the subheading "Department of Agriculture."

**References**

Clarke, C.B. 1977. *Edible and useful plants of California*. University
of California Press, Berkeley, California. 280 pp.

Dahl, T.E. & C.E. Johnson 1991. *Status and trends of wetlands in the
coterminous United States, mid-1970s to mid-1980s.* USDI, Fish and
Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 28 pp.

Harrington, H.D. 1972. *Western edible wild plants*. The University of
New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 156 pp.

Hickman, J.C. (ed.) 1993. *The Jepson manual. Higher plants of
California*. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 1399
pp.

Hoag, J.C. & M.E. Sellers (April) 1995. *Use of greenhouse propagated
wetland plants versus live transplants to vegetate constructed or
created wetlands.* Riparian/Wetland Project Information Series No. 7.
USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, Idaho. 6 pp.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants: A guide to wildlife food habits.* Dover Publications, Inc., New
York, New York. 500 pp.

Murphy, E.V.A. no date. *Indian uses of native plants*. Mendocino County
Historical Society. 81 pp.

Roos-Collins, M. 1990*. The flavors of home. A guide to wild edible
plants of the San Francisco Bay area.* Heyday Books, Berkeley,
California. 224 pp.

Tiner, R.W. 1984. *Wetlands of the United States: Current status and
recent trends*. USDI, FWS, National Wetlands Inventory, Washington, D.C.
58 pp.

Timbrook, J.J. 1997*. California Indian Basketweavers*. California
Indian Basketweavers Association newsletter.

USDA, NRCS 2003. *The PLANTS database*. National Plant Data Center,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. \<http://plants.usda.gov\>. Version: 030127.

**Prepared By**

*Michelle Stevens*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

*Chris Hoag*

Interagency Riparian/Wetland Project

USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, Idaho

**Species Coordinator**

*M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Plant Sciences Department, University of California, Davis,
California

Edited: 27jan03 jsp; 060817 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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