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A wetland plant first identified as a distinct species in 1962, the northeastern bulrush puzzles biologists. A rare species of flowering plant in the sedge family, it is considered a relict species -- one that was once more widespread.

Occurring in isolated areas scattered across seven US states, northeastern bulrush is difficult to find and difficult to recognize. Like other sedges, it grows in wet areas -- small wetlands, sinkhole ponds or wet depressions with seasonally fluctuating water levels. It may be found at the water's edge, in deep water or in just a few inches of water, and during dry spells there may be no water visible where the plant is growing.

The plant appears to have adapted to regularly changing water levels, which may have given it an advantage over less tolerant plant species, but habitat alterations that make a site consistently drier or wetter could make life impossible for it. Activities such as filling or ditching in a wetland can destroy or degrade this species' habitat and pose a threat.

It is threatened by the destruction and degradation of its habitat. This includes outright destruction as the land is cleared for development, and also includes damage from road construction and maintenance, fire suppression activities, maintenance of power lines and other utilities, hydrocarbon development, and all-terrain vehicle use.

As of 2007 there were only about 110 known populations of this species, about half of them in decline. It is a US federally listed endangered species.