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Scirpus lacustris - L.

Bulrush

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Cyperaceae	Genus	Scirpus
Synonyms	Schoenoplectus lacustris - (L.)Pall.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, incl Britain, south and east from Lapland to Africa and Asia. N. and C. America, Polynesia.
Habitat	Bogs, shallow pond margins, rivers and lakes, usually where there is abundant silt, in acid or calcareous conditions[1, 17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	1 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 2.5m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats

Pond; Bog Garden;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Pollen; Root; Seed; Stem.

Root - raw or cooked[2, 85, 95, 183]. Rich in starch, it can be dried and ground into a powder or made into a syrup[13, 85, 95, 183]. The buds at the end of the rhizomes are crisp and sweet, making excellent eating raw[183]. Young shoots - raw or cooked[85, 183]. Used in spring. Seed - ground up into a powder and mixed with flour for use in making cakes etc[85, 183]. The seed is small and rather fiddly to harvest and utilize. Base of mature stems - raw or cooked. Somewhat tough[85]. Pollen - raw or cooked. Rich in pollen, it is mixed with flour and used in making cakes etc[85, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Astringent; Cancer; Diuretic.

The roots are astringent and diuretic[240]. They were formerly employed medicinally but have fallen into disuse[4]. This plant is a traditional medicine for cancer[218].

Other Uses

Paper; Thatching; Weaving.

The stems are frequently used for making matting, chair bottoms etc and thatching[1, 4, 23, 85, 100, 115]. They were at one time imported in large quantities for this purpose[4]. The pith of the stems is used in paper making[100].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any wet to moisture retentive soil, pond margins and shallow water in full sun or shade[1, 200]. Plants can succeed in fairly deep water. Hardy to about -25°c[187]. Some named forms have been selected for their ornamental value[187].

Propagation

Seed - sow in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in a pot standing in 3cm of water. Only just cover the seed with soil[200]. The seed usually germinates fairly quickly. Prick out the plants when large enough to handle and plant out in their permanent positions in early summer. Division in spring. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Cultivars

There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: The Edible Pond and Bog Garden.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[23] Wright. D. Complete Book of Baskets and Basketry. David and Charles 1977 ISBN 0-7153-7449-4
Not that complete but very readable and well illustrated.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 0
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Scirpus lacustris

P at Pickering Mon Nov 20 2006

Fascinating. I didn't realise rush had so many uses. I use it for chair seating. Are there any large areas of rush growing in (or near) South West Scotland? I've seen lots growing in Ireland, but, unfortunately, the cost of the ferry would make it uneconomic for me to harvest it there. Any information would be most gratefully received.

Scirpus lacustris

Ken Fern, Plants for a Future. Tue Nov 21 2006

The easiest way of finding out if a specific plant is growing in your area is to visit your local library. They will either have a local flora of the area, or will be able to obtain one for you.

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