River Bulrush (Scirpus fluviatilis)

Family: Cyperaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Scirpus fluviatilis is a PERENNIAL growing to 2 m (6ft 7in). The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil and can grow in water.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Shoots, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet coconut-milk flavour, they become black and woody with age. — The stems are peeled and eaten.; Root - raw or cooked.; The roots form tubers at intervals along their length and new plants are formed from these tubers.; When first formed, the tubers are white and starchy with a sweet coconut-milk flavour, they become black and woody with age.

Habitat & North American Range

Fresh or brackish marshes and quiet water along streams and lakes, sometimes in water up to 1 metre deep, in western and eastern N. America. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)