Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Creeping Spikerush

Eleocharis palustris

(L.) Roemer & J.A. Schultes

Creeping Spikerush

G5Secure Found in 7 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.889836
Element CodePMCYP092N0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderCyperales
FamilyCyperaceae
GenusEleocharis
Other Common Names
Common Spikerush (EN) common spikerush (EN) Éléocharide des marais (FR) Marsh Spikerush (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Taxonomic Comments
Kartesz (1999), FNA (vol. 23, 2002), and Weakley (Nov. 2012 draft) include E. smallii in E. palustris.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-07-14
Change Date1984-04-24
Edition Date2025-07-14
Edition AuthorsJohnson, J. (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Eleocharis palustris is found around the northern hemisphere in most of North America, northern Central America, Eurasia, and northern Africa. With a broad range, large number of occurrences, and a preference for widespread habitats, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Eleocharis palustris is found around the northern hemisphere in most of North America, northern Central America, Eurasia, and northern Africa (FNA 2002, POWO 2025). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are thousands of occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Eleocharis palustris is potentially threatened by development, water management, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, tolerance of light disturbance, and affinity for typically abundant habitats, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Eleocharis palustris grows in fresh to slightly brackish marshes, meadows, and the shores of ponds (FNA 2002).
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOLHERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS5Yes
Yukon TerritoryS5Yes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
British ColumbiaS5Yes
Prince Edward IslandS4Yes
SaskatchewanS5Yes
AlbertaS5Yes
Island of NewfoundlandS4Yes
New BrunswickS5Yes
NunavutS3Yes
QuebecS5Yes
LabradorS3Yes
ManitobaS5Yes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MontanaS5Yes
AlaskaSNRYes
KansasS3Yes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
MississippiS1Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
New MexicoSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
IdahoSNRYes
ArizonaS5Yes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
CaliforniaSNRYes
South CarolinaS1Yes
UtahSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
OregonSNRYes
HawaiiSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
NevadaS4Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
West VirginiaS4Yes
New JerseyS5Yes
MissouriSNRYes
WyomingS5Yes
South DakotaSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
TexasSNRYes
VirginiaS3Yes
North CarolinaS1Yes
DelawareSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
VermontS5Yes
IllinoisSNRYes
ColoradoS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undeterminedUnknownUnknownUnknown

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (7)
Alaska (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bering LakeChugach National Forest965,076
KekuTongass National Forest10,869
Sitka SoundTongass National Forest13,459
Minnesota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Kawishiwi Lake To SawbillSuperior National Forest15,305
Nevada (1)
AreaForestAcres
QuinnHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest62,459
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
South Fork - TowerUmatilla National Forest16,570
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
Big Bear CreekManti-Lasal National Forest28,440
References (9)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 23. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 608 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  6. Plants of the World Online (POWO). 2025. Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Online. Available: https://powo.science.kew.org/ (accessed 2025).
  7. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  8. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  9. Weakley, A. S. 2012. Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Working Draft of 30 November 2012. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Online. Available: http://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm (Accessed 2012).