What does bullrush mean?
A bullrush (more commonly spelled 'bulrush') is a tall wetland plant found at the margins of ponds, lakes, and slow-moving rivers. In everyday British usage it refers to what botanists call reedmace — the genus Typha — recognisable by its long, sword-like leaves and its striking brown, sausage-shaped flower spike that stands on a stiff stem well above the water. In North America, however, 'bulrush' more often denotes rushes of the genus Scirpus, while Typha goes by the vivid name 'cattail'. Historically, these plants have been genuinely useful: their leaves were woven into mats, seats, and baskets, and the papyrus of the Nile — sometimes called bullrush in biblical translations — gave humanity one of its first papers. The word evokes quiet riverbanks and reedy landscapes, making it a favourite in nature writing and painting.
nounA variant spelling of 'bulrush', referring to any of several tall wetland plants — most commonly the reedmace or cattail (genus Typha), and sometimes the papyrus sedge — with long strap-like leaves and a distinctive brown cylindrical flower spike.
- The reedmace or cattail plant (Typha species), a tall marsh plant with a brown cylindrical flower head — the dominant sense, especially in British English.
- In North American usage, various other wetland plants including Scirpus species (true bulrushes).
- Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), from which ancient Egyptians made paper, occasionally called bullrush in biblical contexts.
"The children wove the dried leaves of the bullrushes into small mats by the riverbank."
"Dense stands of bullrushes fringed the edges of the pond, hiding the moorhens from view."
"She sketched the bullrushes swaying against the grey winter sky at the water's edge."
Regular plural; typically used when describing stands or clusters of the plant along a shoreline rather than single specimens.
"By late summer the bullrushes had turned to soft brown velvet heads."
The plant in Moses's basket story is often called a 'bullrush' — yet in Britain that very name technically belongs to a different plant entirely, thanks to centuries of botanical name-swapping.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bullrush
The word combines 'bull', here used as an intensifier meaning 'large or coarse', with 'rush', the Old English word for marsh plants (from Old English rysce or risce, of Germanic origin). It emerged in Middle English, with both 'bulrush' and 'bullrush' spellings attested by the early modern period. The compound was originally applied to large or coarse rushes, and later extended to the taller Typha plants. Its Germanic root makes it unrelated to Latin-derived botanical terms, and its closest kin are simply the other Germanic words for rushes and reeds.
How bullrush is actually used
Both spellings, 'bullrush' and 'bulrush', are widely used and accepted, but 'bulrush' is the form preferred by major dictionaries. The word covers different plants in different regions: in Britain it typically means reedmace (Typha), while botanists reserve 'bulrush' for Scirpus species; in North America 'bulrush' usually means Scirpus and 'cattail' means Typha. The word carries gentle pastoral and riverside connotations and appears frequently in nature writing and children's literature.
Easily confused with bullrush
'Bullrush' is simply a common variant spelling of 'bulrush'; both refer to the same plant, though 'bulrush' is the standard dictionary form.
Reeds are grass-family plants (Phragmites) with feathery plumes, whereas bullrushes/bulrushes are Typha plants with a brown sausage-shaped flower spike.