Blysmus rufus(Huds.) Link

red bulrushsaltmarsh flat-sedge

WFO wfo-0000341582 Accepted WFO 2026-06 5 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–e · 5 separate observations

Blysmus rufus, photographed by Quinten Wiegersma
fig. a Quinten Wiegersma, CC BY 4.0 / 2019-08-04 / obs. 49712476
Blysmus rufus, photographed by pete_gateley
fig. b pete_gateley, CC0 1.0 / obs. 156867573
Blysmus rufus, photographed by pete_gateley
fig. c pete_gateley, CC0 1.0 / obs. 147799475
Blysmus rufus, photographed by pete_gateley
fig. d pete_gateley, CC0 1.0 / obs. 142703740
Blysmus rufus, photographed by Skjold Søndergaard
fig. e Skjold Søndergaard, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 114064887

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 37 botanical countries

Regions where Blysmus rufus is native: Altay, Inner Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Manchuria, Mongolia, Qinghai, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, West Himalaya, Baltic States, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Alaska, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan, Yukon AltayInner MongoliaKazakhstanKirgizstanManchuriaMongoliaQinghaiTadzhikistanUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaWest HimalayaBaltic StatesDenmarkFinlandGermanyIrelandNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayPolandSwedenAlaskaManitobaNew BrunswickNewfoundlandNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOntarioPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanYukon
Native distribution of Blysmus rufus, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Inner Mongolia CHI
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
Qinghai CHQ
Tadzhikistan TZK
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Baltic States BLT EUROPE
Denmark DEN
Finland FIN
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Ireland IRE
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
Poland POL
Sweden SWE
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Manitoba MAN
New Brunswick NBR
Newfoundland NFL
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ontario ONT
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
Yukon YUK
West Himalaya WHM ASIA-TROPICAL

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 23 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Blysmopsis rufa (Huds.) Oteng-Yeb.
  • Blysmus bifolius Nyman
  • Blysmus exilis (Printz) N.A.Ivanova
  • Blysmus rufus subsp. exilis Printz
  • Blysmus rufus var. balticus Rchb.
  • Blysmus rufus var. bifolius (Wallr.) Nyman
  • Chaetospora rufa (Huds.) Gray
  • Cyperus rufus (Huds.) Missbach & E.H.L.Krause
  • Nomochloa rufa (Huds.) Beetle
  • Nomochloa rufa var. neogaea (Fernald) Beetle
  • Schoenus brunneus Sol. ex Roem. & Schult.
  • Schoenus ferrugineus Huds.
  • Schoenus rufus Huds.
  • Schoenus rufus var. major Hartm.
  • Scirpus bifolius Wallr.
  • Scirpus littoralis Flüggé ex Rchb.
  • Scirpus rufus (Huds.) Schrad.
  • Scirpus rufus f. balticus (Fr.) Nilsson
  • Scirpus rufus f. bifolius (Wallr.) Nilsson
  • Scirpus rufus subsp. exilis Printz
  • Scirpus rufus var. balticus Fr.
  • Scirpus rufus var. neogaeus Fernald
  • Scirpus wallrothii Bernh.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.