Species: Luzula acuminata var. acuminata Raf.

comments | credits | copyright

Back to: Plants at Risk in Saskatchewan

Luzula acuminata var. acuminata Raf.

Species Image Gallery
(opens in a new window)

TAXONOMY

Family:

Juncaceae

Genus:

Luzula

Species Synonyms:

Juncoides saltuense (Fern.) Heller
Luzula pilosa (L.) Willd.
Luzula salutensis Fern.
Luzula carolinae var. saltuensis (Fern.) Fern.
Luzula pilosa var. saltuensis (Fern.) Boivin

Common Names:

hairy woodrush

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

central Alberta – central Saskatchewan – central Manitoba – Ontario – Quebec – southern Newfoundland – Nova Scotia

Saskatchewan:

central Saskatchewan; Glaslyn – Pasquia Hills

Ecoregion:

Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Churchill River Upland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

woods and shrubby fens

Associated Species:

bishop’s cap, bunchberry, dwarf birch, dwarf scouring rush, northern white violet, sheathed sedge, silvertop sedge, tamarack, twoleaved Solomonseal

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S1S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Hairy woodrush is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. This species is only somewhat regionally restricted, but most local populations are small. No immediate threats are known at the present time.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

10 – 40 cm tall

Roots:

rhizomes similar to runners

Culms:

runners to 6 cm, scale-like leaves present; stems loosely tufted, 3 – 5 mm wide

Leaves:

basal leaves to 32 cm long, 2 – 10 mm wide, hairy; stem leaves 2 – 4, 2 – 4 cm long, 2 – 5 mm wide; sheaths reddish, throats hairy

Inflorescence:

simple, umbrella-like, secondary branches usually absent; bracts straw-coloured; flower stalks single or paired, erect to spreading, 1 – 4 cm long

Flowers:

small bracts at the base of the flower lance-shaped to oval, 1/3 to 1/2 tepal length; tepals 3 – 4.5 mm long, pale to dark brown, margin entire and membranous; anthers 2 times filament length; stigmas equalling style

Fruits:

capsules exceeding tepals, beak a sharp point, green to straw-coloured; seeds to 2.5 mm long (including curved, tail-like appendage), reddish to brown

LUZULA KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Flowers in a simple, umbrella-like cluster or 2 – 3 at the ends of stalks; leaves > 5 mm broad; rhizomes well-developed	2
1 Flowers sessile or subsessile in dense clusters; leaves < 5 mm broad; rhizomes absent or poorly developed	3

2 Leaves long-hairy; inflorescence a simple umbrella-like cluster; flowers 2.5 – 4.5 mm long; seeds with a long, curved tail-like appendage	L. acuminata var. acuminata
2 Leaves essentially hairless except at the top of the sheath; inflorescence with 2 – 3 flowers at the ends of the stalk, compound; flowers 2 – 3.0 mm long; seeds lacking a long, curved, tail-like appendage	L. parviflora var. melanocarpa

3 Leaves tapering to long, slender points, margin rolled; floral bracts hairy margined; seeds unappendaged	L. confusa
3 Leaves with blunt hardened tips, flat; floral bracts entire or torn; seeds with a well-developed appendage	4

4 Tepals < 3.5 mm long; tepals and capsule chestnut brown to black; inflorescence congested, spikes usually sessile or subsessile	L. multiflora ssp. frigida
4 Tepals to 4.5 mm long; tepals and capsule pale or straw-coloured; inflorescence commonly with a large, sessile central spike and two lateral spikes on ascending rays	L. multiflora ssp. multiflora