Species: Luzula multiflora ssp. multiflora (Ehrh.) Lej.

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Luzula multiflora ssp. multiflora (Ehrh.) Lej.

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Juncaceae

Genus:

Luzula

Species Synonyms:

Juncus multiflorus (Ehrh.) Hoffmann, non Retz.
Luzula multiflora ssp. multiflora var. multiflora (Ehrh.) Lej.
Juncus campestris var. multiflorus Ehrh.
Luzula campestris var. multiflora (Ehrh.) Celak.

Common Names:

common woodrush
many-flowered woodrush

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

Yukon Territory – Mackenzie District – Keewatin District – Ungava, south to northern British Columbia – southern Alberta – southeastern and central Saskatchewan – southern Manitoba – Ontario – Nova Scotia – Newfoundland

Saskatchewan:

wide distribution; Lake Athabasca – Nipawin Provincial Park, Cypress Hills

Ecoregion:

Cypress Upland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Athabasca Plain, Selwyn Lake Upland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

fields, meadows and open woods

Associated Species:

back sedge, beaked sedge, black spruce, silvertop sedge, tall bluebells, water sedge

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Vulnerable

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5T5 S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Many-flowered woodrush is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon in the province and most local populations are small.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

10 – 40 cm tall

Roots:

rhizomes

Culms:

densely to loosely tufted, somewhat enlarged at base

Leaves:

basal leaves 3.5 – 12 cm long, 2 – 6 mm wide, flat; stem leaves 2 – 3, not overlapping, equalling or exceeding inflorescence, sparsely hairy

Inflorescence:

umbrella-like, with one large and two smaller spikes on ascending branches; lowermost bract of inflorescence leaf-like

Flowers:

tepals 2.5 – 4.5 mm long, outer and inner tepals approximately equal or outer whorl slightly longer than the inner, pale brown or straw-coloured, margins clear; anthers not more than twice the length of the filament

Fruits:

capsules about equal to tepals, rounded, pale brown to black; seeds 1 – 1.4 mm long, with a long curved, tail-like appendage

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