bulrush

A bulrush is a very tall plant that grows in wetlands. Another name for a bulrush is a cattail.

If you hike near a marsh, you may see bulrushes poking up above the other grasses growing there. A bulrush tends to have a long, rounded seed head at its very top, and wide, strong leaves that can be used for weaving. The noun bulrush combines rush, "plant growing in marshy ground," with bul or bull, most likely used in the sense of "very large or coarse," as in the word bullfrog.

Primary Meanings of bulrush

1.
 n
tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads that explode when mature shedding large quantities of down; its long flat leaves are used for making mats and chair seats; of North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa
2.
 n
tall rush with soft erect or arching stems found in Eurasia, Australia, New Zealand, and common in North America
Full Definitions of bulrush
1

n tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads that explode when mature shedding large quantities of down; its long flat leaves are used for making mats and chair seats; of North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa

Synonyms:
Typha latifolia, bullrush, cat's-tail, nailrod, reed mace, reedmace
Type of:
cattail
tall erect herbs with sword-shaped leaves; cosmopolitan in fresh and salt marshes
2

n tall rush with soft erect or arching stems found in Eurasia, Australia, New Zealand, and common in North America

Synonyms:
Juncus effusus, bullrush, common rush, soft rush
Type of:
rush
grasslike plants growing in wet places and having cylindrical often hollow stems

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