Isolepis setacea(L.) R.Br.

Bristle Club-rushbristleleaf bulrush

WFO wfo-0000450321 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Isolepis setacea, photographed by Josep Gesti
fig. a Josep Gesti, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-05-19 / obs. 198895954
Isolepis setacea, photographed by Patrick Hacker
fig. b Patrick Hacker, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 152448797
Isolepis setacea, photographed by Michael D. Pirie
fig. c Michael D. Pirie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 52713139
Isolepis setacea, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. d Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 34218481
Isolepis setacea, photographed by Andre Hosper
fig. e Andre Hosper, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 34111297
Isolepis setacea, photographed by Colin Meurk
fig. f Colin Meurk, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 14451509
Isolepis setacea, photographed by Étienne Léveillé-Bourret
fig. g Étienne Léveillé-Bourret, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 13332802
Isolepis setacea, photographed by purperlibel
fig. h purperlibel, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 3901028

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 78 botanical countries

Regions where Isolepis setacea is native: Algeria, Azores, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Free State, Gulf of Guinea Is., Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Madeira, Morocco, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Afghanistan, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Qinghai, Saudi Arabia, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Yemen, Assam, East Himalaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Føroyar, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine AlgeriaCameroonCape ProvincesDR CongoEgyptEthiopiaFree StateGulf of Guinea Is.KenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMoroccoNamibiaNorthern ProvincesRwandaTanzaniaUgandaAfghanistanChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastInner MongoliaIranKazakhstanKirgizstanLebanon-SyriaNorth CaucasusQinghaiSaudi ArabiaTadzhikistanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeUzbekistanXinjiangYemenAssamEast HimalayaMyanmarNepalPakistanThailandWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyNetherlandsNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraine AzoresMadeiraFøroyar
Native distribution of Isolepis setacea, 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. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Netherlands NET
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Azores AZO
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Madeira MDR
Morocco MOR
Namibia NAM
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Lebanon-Syria LBS
North Caucasus NCS
Qinghai CHQ
Saudi Arabia SAU
Tadzhikistan TZK
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Uzbekistan UZB
Xinjiang CHX
Yemen YEM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
East Himalaya EHM
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Thailand THA
West Himalaya WHM

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 19 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.

  • Cyperus setaceus (L.) Missbach & E.H.L.Krause
  • Isolepis gracillima Hochst. ex Engl.
  • Isolepis monandra Link
  • Isolepis pleurocarpa Hochst. ex Boiss.
  • Isolepis setacea subsp. gracillima Nyman
  • Isolepis setacea var. aberdarica R.W.Haines & Lye
  • Isolepis setacea var. pallens Rchb.
  • Mariscus setaceus (L.) Moench
  • Schoenoplectus setaceus (L.) Palla
  • Scirpus clathratus Rchb.
  • Scirpus gracillimus Kohts
  • Scirpus savii var. gracillimus (Nyman) Rouy
  • Scirpus setaceus L.
  • Scirpus setaceus subsp. gracillimus (Nyman) Bonnier & Layens
  • Scirpus setaceus var. clathratus (Rchb.) A.Terracc.
  • Scirpus setaceus var. digynus Boeckeler
  • Scirpus setaceus var. gracillimus (Nyman) A.Terracc.
  • Scirpus setaceus var. major Lej.
  • Scirpus setaceus var. minimus Gaudin

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.