Tall Spike Rush
Eleocharis Sphacalata

GATHERING:
Tall Spike rush is best collected in summer and ideally with a group to manage. The best quality for weaving is found in deep dams or marshy areas, waders and even kayaks for getting in amongst the reeds. Cut the reeds below the water level for maximum length and try not to bend them.
STORAGE: 
These rushes will dry in approximately a week, spread out on a deck or standing in a sunny spot in small bundles.  Store upright in bundles in a dry space.
TO USE:
​Spike rush is soft and incredibly long. Used whole, it can be worked quickly for a twined basket or melon basket or when split, for finer twining or included with other fibres in a stitched basket.

DESCRIPTION:
Tall spike rush is an aquatic sedge, commonly found in ponds, dams and wetlands. It spreads rapidly and once present in a dam, can become very dense. It's hollow with segmentation and can be recognized by the seed spike on the tip. It can grow up to 2m tall.

Tall Spike Rush - Eleocharis is much loved by basketmakers especially for the delightful surprise you get when you split a reed either in half or four times; the inside is a beautiful saffron yellow. It's quite unique within basketry fibres where natural colouring is often hard to come by.

Examples of work made with Tall Spike Rush