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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE RUSH FAMILY | |||||||||
| The rushes are generally widespread in Saskatchewan in moist habitats such as lakeshores, riverbanks, and sloughs. These plants may look like grasses because the leaves are long and linear. The leaves are in three vertical rows, instead of two vertical rows like in the grasses. The flowers are small and plain. The tepals are usually green or brown and papery in texture. The flowers are clustered into heads and then into branched or unbranched inflorescences. The inflorescences are subtended by bracts. In some species, the bracts are leaf-like and make the inflorescence look like it is coming from the side of the stem instead of the top. The fruit is a capsule. | |||||||||
| HAIRY WOODRUSH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Luzula acuminata var. acuminata | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Hairy woodrush grows as tall as 40 cm from slender rhizomes. This plant also has above ground runners with scales. The stems are loosely tufted with reddish leaf sheaths. The basal leaves are hairy and up to 30 cm long. The two to four stem leaves are much shorter and narrower than the basal leaves. The inflorescence is a simple, umbrella-like cluster with straw-coloured bracts. The small bracts at the base of the flower are much shorter than the tepals. The tepals are pale to dark brown with a membranous edge. The anthers are about twice the filament length and the stigmas are about the same length as the style. The capsules are slightly longer than the tepals and have a sharp point. The seeds have a curved, tail-like appendage. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Hairy woodrush grows in woods and shrubby fens. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in central Saskatchewan in the Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, and Churchill River Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| 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. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY HAIRY WOODRUSH | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves hairy? * Is the inflorescence umbrella-like? * Do the seeds have curved, tail-like appendages? * Did you find it in central Saskatchewan | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found hairy woodrush! | |||||||||
