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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. | |||||||||
| NORTHERN WOODRUSH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Luzula confusa | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Northern woodrush only grows as tall as 10 cm. In this species, the stems are tufted and the rhizomes are lacking or poorly developed. The leaf sheaths are brownish or reddish and last for several years. The leaves are all hairless. There are basal leaves and two or three stem leaves. The margins of the stem leaves are commonly rolled under. The inflorescence is made of one to four clusters. The stalks in the inflorescence are erect or arching. The inflorescence bract is usually short and scale-like. The bracts at the base of the flower are membranous and have torn or fringed margins. The tepals are as long as the capsules and the outer whorl is slightly longer than the inner whorl. The tepals are dark brown. The anthers are twice the length of the filament. The fruits are dark brown capsules. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Northern rush is found on dry, rocky tundra slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Northern woodrush is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is extremely rare and is highly regionally restricted in the province. No threats are known or anticipated. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY NORTHERN WOODRUSH | |||||||||
| * Are the leaf margins rolled under? * Are the flowers in dense clusters? * Are the tepals dark brown? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found northern woodrush! | |||||||||
