| Status: | Introduced - naturalized; ecologically invasive |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, emergent semi-aquatic, 3'-9' tall with many smooth stems; clone-forming from spreading rhizomes |
| Flower: | brown, 3-parted; inflorescence a thick spike with male (top) and female (bottom) flowers; blooms May-July |
| Fruit: | hundreds of seeds tightly packed into a brown, cylindrical spike with 1/2"-1" bare gap between the male and female flowers |
| Leaf: | basal, lance-like with pointed tips, less than 1/2" wide, back rounded, overlapping each other at the base |
| Habitat: | sun; moist to wet; ditches, marshes, alkaline water; in muddy soil |
| Notes: | invasive in central and northern Wisconsin; to eradicate cut, graze, or burn then apply a selective herbicide; fluctuate water levels |
| (Glossary) |
