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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE SEDGE FAMILY | |||||||||
| The sedge family is widespread around
the world, but these plants are usually found in damp habitats in subarctic
to temperate regions. The sedge family is very large, with approximately
5,315 species! There is a lot of variability within the family, but in general,
they are perennial herbs. The stems are solid and are frequently three sided.
The leaves are in three vertical rows. The basal sheath of the leaves is
closed. The leaves are linear and have the parallel venation typical of
the monocots. The inflorescences vary greatly among genera. In general,
flowers are in spikes or spikelets which are arranged into spikes, racemes,
panicles and umbrella-like clusters. In each spike there are bracts, usually
at least one per flower. The flowers are reduced, meaning that they do not
have obvious sepals and petals. The sepals and petals, if present, are often
in the form of bristles, scales or hairs. There are three stamens and two
or three carpels. The flowers may have both male and female parts or only
one of the two. In one of the largest genera, Carex, the ovary
is enclosed in a sac-like bract called the perigynium. The fruits are single-seeded,
lens-shaped or triangular structures called achenes. The sedges are an ecologically important family in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has 149 species belonging to the Cyperaceae. |
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| SUBTERMINAL BULRUSH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Schoenoplectus subterminalis | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Subterminal bulrush grows as tall as 1.5 m from soft weak rhizomes. The stems are round in cross section and are very slender. There are between two and 20 basal leaves. Some of the leaves may grow above the water. These leaves are usually C-shaped in cross section and are very thin and hair-like. The underwater leaves are limp and thread-like. The inflorescence is a single, terminal spikelet. The spikelet may not appear terminal because of the leaf-like bract that extends past the inflorescence. The spikelet is pale brown. Each flower has six perianth bristles that are shorter than or equal to the achene. The achenes are egg-shaped. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Subterminal bulrush grows in the water or occasionally in wet soil in or near lakes streams, and bogs. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species grows in northwestern Saskatchewan in the Athabasca Plain ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Subterminal bulrush is endangered because it is extremely rare and is only found in one small region of the province. In addition, most local populations are small and some may be threatened by planned developments. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SUBTERMINAL BULRUSH | |||||||||
| * Are the spikelets pale brown? * Does the leaf-like bract extend past the inflorescence? * Are the leaves all basal? * Did you find it in northwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found subterminal bulrush! |
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