Bulrush

Tags: Aquatic plant Description: Bulrush grows in shallow fresh water along lakeshores, tarns and bogs. It grows up to 2 m tall. The flowers, which are tiny, sit together in club-shaped spikes, which make the plant easy to recognise. There can be 100,000 flowers in one spike. The female flowers sit at the bottom in a broader spike, which can look a little like a cigar, and the male flowers sit at the top in a narrower spike. In the female flowers sit masses of thin hairs, which help to spread the fruit when it is ripe. The leaves resemble large grass blades. Use: In Norway there are two species of bulrush that resemble one another. Both species have had many uses. The rhizome and the lower parts of the leaves and the flowering stalk contain some starch and protein, especially if they are gathered late in autumn or early in spring. The rhizomes can be eaten either raw or boiled, or they can be dried and ground into flour. Pollen from the male flowers is used in Chinese herbal medicine. The fine hairs in the female flowers have been used as insulation material in clothing and shoes, as filling in pillows and mattresses. The leaves have been used as fodder and to seal barrels. Habitat type: Water and bog Edible: Yes Written by: Lærke Stewart

, via Wikimedia Commons](Bred%20dunkjevle/Bred_dunkjevle.jpg)

Bulrush. Photo: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

, via Wikimedia Commons](Bred%20dunkjevle/Bred_dunkjevle.jpeg)

Close-up of bulrush. Photo: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Next steps

• Plants — the hub
• Learn more about plants — entries and identifying features
• Foraging — practical harvesting
• Food from nature — wild plants — preparation if edible

Learn more

• Artsdatabanken — species, status, red list
• SNL — Norwegian botany — encyclopaedic
• Sopp- og Nyttevekstforbundet — courses and checking
• Botanisk forening — Norwegian botany community