Several hundred fossil fruits of Scirpus ragozinii have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.

[3] Thirty-five fossil fruits of the extant Scirpus sylvaticus have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.

[1] Many species are common in wetlands and can produce dense stands of vegetation, along rivers,[5][6] in coastal deltas[7] and in ponds and potholes.

[9] It can survive unfavourable conditions like prolonged flooding, or drought, as buried seeds.

They are also used in some herbal remedies; the plant's rhizomes are collected in the autumn and winter and dried in the sun before use.