Cyperaceae
California bulrush
Schoenoplectus californicus
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Genus
- Schoenoplectus
Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants

Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Common names
By language (3)
- English
- California bulrush
- Quechua
- Cauri, Chuqa, Kawri, Matara, T'utura, Totora
- Spanish
- Totora
Synonyms
- Dichromena atrosanguinea É.Desv.
- Elytrospermum californicum C.A.Mey.
- Fimbristylis rigida Beetle
- Malacochaete assimilis Ces.
- Malacochaete chilensis Nees & Meyen ex Boeckeler
- Malacochaete oligostachya Phil.
- Malacochaete riparia Nees & Meyen
- Malacochaete riparia var. chamissoi Nees
- Malacochaete sanguinolenta Nees & Meyen ex Boeckeler
- Malacochaete tatora (Kunth) Nees & Meyen
- Malacochaete tatora Meyen
- Schoenoplectus californicus subsp. tereticulmis (Steud.) Soják
- Schoenoplectus californicus var. californicus
- Schoenoplectus californicus var. spoliatus (Barros) Vegetti
- Schoenoplectus californicus var. tereticulmis (Steud.) Vegetti
- Schoenoplectus chamissoi (Nees) Soják
- Schoenoplectus pseudotriqueter (Steud.) Soják
- Schoenoplectus riparius (Nees & Meyen) Palla
- Schoenoplectus tatora (Kunth) Palla
- Scirpus atrosanguineus (É.Desv.) Skottsb.
- Scirpus californicus (C.A.Mey.) Steud.
- Scirpus californicus subsp. tatora (Kunth) T.Koyama
- Scirpus californicus var. chamissoi (Nees) Beetle
- Scirpus californicus var. paschalis (Kük.) Beetle
- Scirpus californicus var. spoliatus Barros
- Scirpus californicus var. tatora (Kunth) Barros
- Scirpus californicus var. tereticulmis (Steud.) Beetle
- Scirpus chamissoi Schrad. ex Nees
- Scirpus decipiens A.St.-Hil. ex Nees
- Scirpus decipiens A.St.-Hil.
- Scirpus paschalis Kük.
- Scirpus pseudotriqueter Steud.
- Scirpus rigidus Schrad. ex Nees
- Scirpus riparius J.Presl & C.Presl
- Scirpus riparius var. paschalis Kük.
- Scirpus riparius var. tereticulmis (Steud.) C.B.Clarke
- Scirpus tatora Kunth
- Scirpus tereticulmis Steud.
- Scirpus validus Benth.
Flowers
- Flower colour
- brown (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Graminoid
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: native
Photos

Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Curtis Clark assumed, CC BY-SA 2.5, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Schoenoplectus
- Common club-rushSchoenoplectus lacustrisCyperaceae
- Grey club-rushSchoenoplectus tabernaemontaniCyperaceae
- Streambank bulrushSchoenoplectus triqueterCyperaceae
- Hardstem bulrushSchoenoplectus acutusCyperaceae
- Schoenoplectus litoralisCyperaceae
- Common threesquareSchoenoplectus pungensCyperaceae
- Chairmaker's bulrushSchoenoplectus americanusCyperaceae
- Schoenoplectus nipponicusCyperaceae
- Swaying bulrushSchoenoplectus subterminalisCyperaceae
- Canby's bulrushSchoenoplectus etuberculatusCyperaceae
- Slender bulrushSchoenoplectus heterochaetusCyperaceae
- Torrey's bulrushSchoenoplectus torreyiCyperaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.