Bristle Club-rush
ENEndangered

Bristle Club-rush

Isolepis setacea

Isolepis setacea is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names bristle club-rush and bristleleaf bulrush. It is native to Eurasia and Africa, and possibly Australasia.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolepis_setacea

01Classification

Taxonomy & Classification

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Poales

Family

Cyperaceae

Genus

Isolepis

Bristle Club-rush belongs to the family Cyperaceae, order Poales, within the Liliopsida class.

02Description

Species Profile

Isolepis setacea is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names bristle club-rush and bristleleaf bulrush. It is native to Eurasia and Africa, and possibly Australasia. It can be found in other places, including some areas in North America, where it is an introduced species. It grows in many types of moist and wet habitat, often in coastal regions, and sometimes inland. It is a perennial herb which forms mats of very thin, grooved, erect or arching stems up to about 20 centimeters tall. The leaves sheath the stem bases and have short, flat, thick blades. The inflorescence is a solitary spikelet just a few millimeters long, or a cluster of up to three spikelets. These are accompanied by a stiff bract extending past the flowers.

Bristle Club-rush faces severe decline primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized wetland environments. Drainage of temporary pools, agricultural intensification, and urban development have eliminated many suitable sites, while remaining populations are threatened by water pollution and altered hydrology.

Key Facts

IUCN StatusEndangered (EN)
GroupPlants
03Habitat

Habitat & Distribution

TERRESTRIALMajor
04Threats

Threats

!

IUCN Red List: Endangered

Bristle Club-rush faces severe decline primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized wetland environments. Drainage of temporary pools, agricultural intensification, and urban development have eliminated many suitable sites, while remaining populations are threatened by water pollution and altered hydrology.

Agricultural intensification and land conversion

HighOngoing

Habitat loss from drainage and development

HighOngoing

Altered hydrology and water management

MediumOngoing

Climate change affecting seasonal water patterns

MediumOngoing

Water pollution and eutrophication

MediumOngoing
Community

Community Sightings

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07Sources

Sources & Attribution

How to Cite

IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS

GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org

This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Bristle Club-rush (Isolepis setacea). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/bristle-club-rush

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