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Piper's wood-rush, smooth woodrush

tundra woodrush

Rhizomes

horizontal, short.

Culms

densely cespitose, 10–30(–35) cm.

loosely cespitose, light green, 15–25 cm.

Leaves

basal blade green, 5–10 cm × 2–4 mm, firm, essentially glabrous;

cauline leaves 2–3, 3–7 cm × 3–5 mm.

sheaths dull brown-gray at base, becoming green distally, throats hairless;

basal leaves flat toward base, channeled toward apex, 4–16 cm × 3–8 mm, apex abruptly pointed, callous, glabrous.

Inflorescences

branches spreading less than 90°, lax;

proximal inflorescence bract leaflike, 0.8–1.5 cm;

bracts and bracteoles brown, clear at apex, margins strongly ciliate.

asymmetric in appearance;

glomerules (1–)2–5, central glomerules sessile or nearly sessile, 3–9 × 2.5–6 mm;

capillary branches 2–8, arched in 1 direction, to 3.5 cm;

proximal inflorescence bract bladeless.

Flowers

single or in clusters of 2–3;

tepals dark brown, 1–2.5 mm, ± equal, apex acute, not reflexed;

anthers ± equaling filament length;

stigmas 5 times style length.

tepals brownish translucent (apex lacerate to entire), 2–3 mm, apex lacerate to entire;

anthers equal to or exceeding filaments.

Capsules

dark brown, ellipsoid, shorter than 2.5 mm, longer than tepals;

beak absent.

light chestnut brown, broadly 3-angled, shorter than tepals.

Seeds

light yellow-brown, lanceolate, narrowed at ends, 1.2 mm.

most failing to mature, brown (with few hairs present), 3-angled, 0.9–1.1 mm, few hairs present;

caruncle barely visible.

2n

= 24.

= 36.

Luzula piperi

Luzula kjellmaniana

Phenology Flowering and fruiting summer. Flowering and fruiting summer.
Habitat Snowbeds and mesic heaths in subalpine and oceanic zones Tundra
Elevation 400–2400 m (1300–7900 ft) 50–2000 m (200–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC; YT; e Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; BC; NT; YT; ne Asia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Luzula kjellmaniana has light green culms, sheath throats essentially without hairs, and glabrous basal leaves that are flat toward the base and channeled toward the apex (the apex is abruptly pointed). Most seeds fail to mature.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Juncaceae > Luzula > subg. Anthelaea Juncaceae > Luzula > subg. Luzula
Sibling taxa
L. acuminata, L. arctica, L. arcuata, L. bulbosa, L. campestris, L. comosa, L. confusa, L. divaricata, L. echinata, L. groenlandica, L. hitchcockii, L. kjellmaniana, L. luzuloides, L. multiflora, L. orestera, L. pallidula, L. parviflora, L. rufescens, L. spicata, L. subcapitata, L. subcongesta, L. wahlenbergii
L. acuminata, L. arctica, L. arcuata, L. bulbosa, L. campestris, L. comosa, L. confusa, L. divaricata, L. echinata, L. groenlandica, L. hitchcockii, L. luzuloides, L. multiflora, L. orestera, L. pallidula, L. parviflora, L. piperi, L. rufescens, L. spicata, L. subcapitata, L. subcongesta, L. wahlenbergii
Synonyms Juncoides piperi, L. wahlenbergii subsp. piperi L. beeringiana, L. multiflora subsp. kjellmanniana, L. nivalis var. latifolia, L.uzula tundricola
Name authority (Coville) M. E. Jones: Bull. Biol. Ser. Bull. State Univ. Montana 15: 22. (1910) Miyabe & Kudo: Transactions of the Sapporo Natural History Society 5: 38. (1913)
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