Schoenoplectus pungens |
Schoenoplectus |
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American bulrush, chair-maker's rush, chairmaker's clubrush, common three-square, common three-square bulrush, schoenoplectus, scirpe acere, three-square club-bulrush, western bulrush |
bulrush, club-rush, naked-stem bulrush, naked-stem bulrushes, schoenoplecte, scirpes |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial or annual, cespitose or not, rhizomatous or not. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rhizomes | often vertical, 1–6 mm diam., firm to hard; scales shorter to longer than internodes, disintegrating to fibers. |
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Culms | sharply trigonous, sides convex to concave proximally, deeply concave to flat distally, 0.1–2 m × 1–6 mm, smooth. |
solitary or not, cylindric to strongly trigonous, smooth, glabrous, spongy with internal air cavities. |
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Leaves | basal; sheath fronts membranous distally, orifice adaxially truncate to concave, often splitting; ligules 2-fid, 1 mm; blades 2–6, proximally V-shaped, distally trigonous to asymmetrically laterally flattened in cross section, angles often scabridulous distally; distal blade (1–)2–5 times as long as sheath, 50–750 × 2–9 mm. |
basal, rarely 1(–2) cauline; sheaths tubular; ligules membranous, glabrous; blades well developed to rudimentary, cross section dorsiventrally flat to C-shaped or laterally compressed, soft, smooth or margins sometimes distally scabrous or spinulose. |
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Inflorescences | capitate; proximal bract usually erect, resembling leaf blade but trigonous proximally, (1–)3–20 cm. |
terminal, capitate to openly paniculate; spikelets 1–100+; involucral bracts 1–5, leaflike, proximal bract erect to spreading. |
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Spikelets | 1–5(–10), 5–23 × 3–5(–7) mm; scales bright (to very dark) orange-, red-brown, or purplish brown to straw-colored, often prominently lineolate-spotted, midrib mostly paler, ovate, 3.5–6 × 2–3 mm, smooth or awn sparsely spinulose, margins deciduously ciliolate, flanks ribless except sometimes proximal scales, midrib prominent, apex acute (to obtuse), 2-fid, notch (0.3–)0.5–1 mm deep, awn mostly irregularly bent, 0.5–1.5(–2.5) mm. |
terete, 3–25 × 2–5 mm; scales deciduous, 8+, spirally arranged, each subtending flower, or proximal scale empty (sometimes called a bracteole), floral scales with apex entire or 2-fid, midrib usually prolonged into mucro or awn, smooth or abaxial surface scabrous, margins ciliate. |
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Flowers | perianth members 4–8, sometimes fewer, brown, bristlelike, variably slender to stout, equal or unequal, all equaling achene body to all rudimentary, retrorsely spinulose; anthers 2–3 mm; styles 2–3-fid. |
bisexual (basal flowers pistillate in amphicarpic species); perianth of 0–6(–8) bristles, straight or curved, spinulose, straplike, sometimes fringed with soft, blunt hairs, shorter than to somewhat exceeding achene; stamens 3; anthers 3 mm; styles linear, 2–3-fid, base not or scarcely enlarged, deciduous in fruit. |
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Achenes | brown, biconvex to compressed bluntly trigonous, obovoid to obpyriform, (2–)2.5–3.5 × 1.3–2.3 mm; beak 0.1–0.5 mm. |
biconvex to trigonous, with apical beak, faintly to prominently rugose or with transverse wavy ridges, 2.5–3.5 mm including 0.1–2 mm beak. |
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2n | = 74, 78. |
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Schoenoplectus pungens |
Schoenoplectus |
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Phenology | Fruiting spring–summer (south), summer (north). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Fresh to brackish shores, marshes, lakes, fens, often emergent in water to 0.7 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–2400 m (0–7900 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Mexico; South America; West Indies; Europe; Australia (including Tasmania); New Zealand
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Worldwide |
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Discussion | Three varieties of Schoenoplectus pungens (under Scirpus americanus) were recognized for North America by T. Koyama (1963), and three more or less equivalent varieties were recognized by S. G. Smith (1995). These varieties are described informally and illustrated here but not formally recognized because their morphologic delimitation should be evaluated and their exact ranges are still uncertain. Schoenoplectus pungens (Vahl) Palla var. pungens has brown to straw-colored spikelet scales, bifid styles, and lenticular achenes. It is the only variety that occurs in Europe and North America. In North America, it extends from the Atlantic Coast to Saskatoon and is reported from Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Missouri. Schoenoplectus pungens (Vahl) Palla var. longispicatus (Britton) S. G. Smith has bright orange to reddish (or purplish) brown or often stramineus and lineolate-spotted spikelet scales, trifid styles, and trigonous to lenticular achenes. Endemic to the flora area, variety longispicatus occurs in western North America, except Pacific Coast, east to Saskatoon, Manitoba, and Ontario, along the north shore of Lake Superior, south to Iowa, Minnesota, western Wisconsin, Missouri, and southern Mississippi. Schoenoplectus pungens (Vahl) Palla var. badius (J. Presl & C. Presl) S. G. Smith has uniformly dark chestnut spikelet scales, trifid styles 3-fid, and trigonous or thickly biconvex achenes. In North America, variety badius occurs along the Pacific Coast (to slightly inland) from British Columbia south to California. Outside the flora area it occurs in Baja California, Mexico, temperate South America, Australia, including Tasmania, and New Zealand. The name Scirpus americanus [subsp. monophyllus (J. Presl & C. Presl) T. Koyama] var. monophyllus was misapplied to Schoenoplectus pungens var. badius (T. Koyama 1963). The type of the basionym Scirpus monophyllus J. Presl & C. Presl from Peru belongs to Schoenoplectus americanus (S. G. Smith 1995). Schoenoplectus americanus, S. pungens, and S. deltarum belong to the small “Scirpus americanus complex” T. Koyama (1963), in which the species are sometimes difficult to delimit. Schoenoplectus pungens was long known incorrectly as S. americanus Persoon; the type of that name is conspecific with plants formerly treated as S. olneyi A. Gray (A. E. Schuyler 1974). Putative Schoenoplectus pungens × S. americanus hybrids [= S. ×contortus (Eames) S. G. Smith] are locally common. 2n = ca. 86–128. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Species ca. 77 (17 in the flora). The species of 7d. Schoenoplectus sect. Supini produce two morphologically different types of achenes. They have solitary, pistillate (amphicarpic) flowers enclosed in basal leaf sheaths in addition to the terminal inflorescences on the culms. In amphicarpic flowers perianth bristles are usually absent, when present, 1–2, caducous, and sparsely spinulose; the styles are (2–)3-fid, greatly elongated, stigmas are exserted from sheath orifices; achenes are larger than those found in normal spikelets, and their shape and surface sculpturing are different (A. E. Schuyler 1969; J. Raynal 1976; J. Browning 1992). Schoenoplectus includes some difficult species complexes, each with different ranges outside of North America, that are discussed under the first species in each complex. The four sections recognized here were delineated by S. G. Smith and E. Hayasaka (2001). About ten species from eastern Asia and Africa have not yet been assigned to a section. Schoenoplectus californicus and members of the S. lacustris and S. pungens complexes are often ecologically dominant in wetlands, where they provide valuable food and habitat for waterfowl and other animals. In North America their culms are used, mostly historically, for making mats, baskets, chair seats, houses, boats, and other objects. Some species are cultivated as ornamentals. Indicator boxes for weediness are marked here on the basis of the status listed under Scripus. Users of this treatment should note the following features: colors of unripe achenes, even when they appear to be mature, are usually much paler than ripe achenes; lengths of achenes include beak; lengths of scales include awn; spikelets usually elongate during flowering; and culm thicknesses refer to the middle third of culm. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 51. | FNA vol. 23, p. 44. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Schoenoplectus > sect. Schoenoplectus | Cyperaceae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | Scirpus pungens | Scirpus subg. S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | (Vahl) Palla: Verh. K. K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 38(Sitzungsber.): 49. (1888) | (Reichenbach) Palla: Verh. K. K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 38(Sitzungsber.): 49. (1888) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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