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Wahlenberg's wood rush

hedgehog wood rush

Rhizomes

short.

to 1.5 cm or shorter, knotty.

Culms

cespitose, 15–30(–35) cm.

loosely cespitose, 15–45 cm, base sometimes swollen.

Leaves

sheath throat acutely angled, pilose;

basal leaf blade 5–10 cm × 3–8 mm, apex short acuminate, mostly glabrous;

cauline leaves (1–)2–4, 3–5 cm × 2–4 mm.

basal leaves 4–15 cm × 2–7 mm, margins pilose to sparsely hairy, apex not callous.

Inflorescences

anthelate, few flowered;

main branches generally 2–4, spreading less than 90°, lax, usually arching;

proximal inflorescence bract 1 cm or less;

bracts and bracteoles brown;

margins with long curly cilia.

glomerules 4–15, central glomerules sessile or nearly sessile, broadly conic or globose (often loosely flowered);

peduncles straight, divergent by as much as 90°, to 9 cm;

proximal inflorescence bract leaflike, not longer than inflorescence;

bracts and bracteoles clear, variously cut.

Flowers

solitary on short pedicels;

tepals dark purplish brown (margins finely lacerate toward apex), 2–2.5 mm, margins finely lacerate toward apex, apex acute, not reflexed;

anthers ± equaling filament length;

stigmas 2 times style length.

tepals greenish to pale or dark brown, usually with clear margins and apex, 2.8–4 mm;

anthers ca. 2–5 times filament length;

stigmas 2–3 times length of styles.

Capsules

dark brown, less than 2.5 mm, slightly longer than tepals;

beak absent.

pale to dark brown, obovoid to subglobose, usually shorter than tepals.

Seeds

dark reddish brown, cylindric, 1.2–1.6 mm;

caruncle essentially absent.

dark brown, globose, 1.2–1.6 mm;

caruncle 0.5–0.6 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 12.

Luzula wahlenbergii

Luzula echinata

Phenology Flowering and fruiting late summer. Flowering and fruiting spring–early summer.
Habitat Wet mossy arctic and alpine tundra, lake shores, alluvial rivers, shores of alpine creeks, gneissic seashores Bluffs, wooded slopes, alluvial woods, streamsides, under hardwoods and occasionally in clearings
Elevation 40–600 m (100–2000 ft) 50–800 m (200–2600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; BC; MB; NT; NU; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Luzula echinata has knotty rhizomes to 1.5 cm; the bases of the culms are sometimes swollen. Flowers are characterized by stigmas that exceed styles by 2–3 times.

(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. piperi, L. rufescens, L. spicata, L. subcapitata, L. subcongesta
L. acuminata, L. arctica, L. arcuata, L. bulbosa, L. campestris, L. comosa, L. confusa, L. divaricata, L. groenlandica, L. hitchcockii, L. kjellmaniana, L. luzuloides, L. multiflora, L. orestera, L. pallidula, L. parviflora, L. piperi, L. rufescens, L. spicata, L. subcapitata, L. subcongesta, L. wahlenbergii
Name authority Ruprecht: Fl. Samojed. Cisural. 58. (1845) (Small) Hermann: Rhodora 40: 84. (1938)
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