The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

great bulrush, scirpe des étangs, soft-stem bulrush, soft-stem club-bulrush, tule

delta bulrush

Rhizomes

3–10 mm diam.

2–6 mm diam.;

scales much shorter than internodes, disintegrating to fibers.

Culms

cylindric, 0.5–3 m × 2–10 mm.

sharply trigonous, sides convex to flat near base, concave distally, 0.7–2.3 m × 2.5–6 mm, smooth.

Leaves

3–4, basal;

sheath fronts membranous-translucent, often pinnate-fibrillose;

blades 1–2, C-shaped to dorsiventrally flat in cross section, usually much shorter than sheath, distal blade 2–200 × 1–4 mm, margins often scabridulous.

3–5, basal;

sheath fronts not pinnate-fibrillose;

blades 2–3, proximally V-shaped, distally trigonous to asymmetrically laterally flattened in cross section, angles distally scabridulous;

distal blade 1–1.5 times as long as sheath, 9–30 cm × 2–7 mm.

Inflorescences

2–4 times branched, branches to 15(–25) cm;

proximal bract usually erect, thickly C-shaped to subterete, 1–8 cm, margins sometimes scabridulous.

capitate or rarely with 1–2 branches to 5 mm;

proximal bract usually erect, resembling leaf blade, trigonous proximally, (1–)3–20 cm.

Spikelets

15–200, solitary or in clusters of 2–4(–7), commonly all solitary, 3–17 × 2.5–4 mm;

scales uniformly dark to pale orange-brown, sometimes straw-colored, sometimes prominently lineolate-spotted, midrib often pale or green, ovate, 2–3.5 × 1.5–2 mm, sparsely (rarely densely) reddish or straw-colored, scabrous on awn and distal parts of midrib and sometimes flanks, margins ciliate, hairs contorted;

flanks veinless, apex obtuse to rounded, notch 0.2–0.3 mm deep, awn straight or bent, 0.2–0.8 mm.

3–35, 6–15 × 4–5 mm;

scales bright orange-brown or partly purplish, ovate, 3.5–5.5 × 2–3 mm, smooth or awn sparsely spinulose, margins deciduously ciliolate, flanks of proximal scale sometimes with a few ribs, midrib prominent, apex acute, notch 0.6–1 mm deep, awn irregularly bent, 1–1.5 mm.

Flowers

perianth bristles 6, brown, ± equaling achene, densely retrorsely spinulose;

anthers 2 mm;

styles 2-fid, sometimes 3-fid near spikelet apex.

perianth members 3–6, orange-brown, bristlelike, very slender, some equaling achene, some often rudimentary, retrorsely spinulose;

anthers 2–3 mm;

styles 2-fid.

Achenes

dark gray-brown when ripe, plano-convex, obovoid, 1.5–2.8 × 1.2–1.7 mm;

beak 0.2–0.4 mm.

brown, unequally biconvex, obovoid to obpyriform, 1.9–2.6 × 1.3–1.7 mm;

beak 0.1–0.3 mm.

2n

= 42.

= 78.

Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani

Schoenoplectus deltarum

Phenology Fruiting late spring–summer, spring–winter (south). Fruiting late spring–summer.
Habitat Fresh to brackish marshes, fens, bogs, lakes, stream banks and bars, pioneering in disturbed places, often emergent in water to 1 m Brackish, coastal shores, marshes, ditches, waste places
Elevation 0–2400 m (0–7900 ft) 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; 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; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; s South America; Eurasia; Africa; Pacific Islands; Australia; New Zealand
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; KS; LA; MO; MS; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Two yellow-striped forms of Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani are grown as ornamentals.

Schoenoplectus validus, described from the Caribbean, and S. tabernaemontani, described from Europe, are here treated as one variable, cosmopolitan species without infraspecific taxa, pending further studies (J. Browning et al. 1995b; S. G. Smith 1995). Most North American plants have spikelets with reddish papillae or prickles on the scales, whereas some plants of coastal and boreal North America closely resemble most plants of northwestern Europe and southern Africa in their densely reddish prickly-papillose scales and are similar to the type of Scirpus glaucus J. E. Smith.

Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, S. acutus, S. heterochaetus, S. lacustris, and S. triqueter belong to the very difficult S. lacustris complex. The entire complex except S. triqueter was treated as the single species Scirpus lacustris (T. Koyama 1962b). Many Old World authors treat Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani as S. lacustris var. tabernaemontani or subsp. glaucus.

Much of the local infraspecific variation in the Schoenoplectus lacustris complex is probably because of hybridization. Some studies support the recognition of separate species in this group (J. Browning et al. 1995b). Hybrids in North America include S. acutus × S. tabernaemontani, widespread and common, especially in the east; S. acutus × S. heterochaetus = S. ×oblongus (T. Koyama) Soják, widespread but uncommon; S. heterochaetus × S. tabernaemontani = S. ×steinmetzii (Fernald) S. G. Smith, eastern and most uncommon; S. tabernaemontani × S. triqueter = S. ×kuekenthalianus (Junge) Kent, lower Columbia River in Oregon and probably Washington; and S. acutus var. occidentalis × S. californicus, local in California. Except for its trigonous culms, S. triqueter is very similar to the S. lacustris complex and freely hybridizes with S. tabernaemontani, both in North America and Europe.

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

Robust plants of Schoenoplectus deltarum are very distinct because of their many large spikelets; less robust plants closely resemble S. pungens. As Schoenoplectus deltarum combines some characteristics of S. americanus with most characteristics of S. pungens, it may be of hybrid origin. Intermediates between these species occur along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. Schoenoplectus deltarum is often dominant in much of the marsh on mudflats formed in the Mississippi River delta, and it is a major food of geese wintering there.

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

Source FNA vol. 23, p. 47. FNA vol. 23, p. 52.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Schoenoplectus > sect. Schoenoplectus Cyperaceae > Schoenoplectus > sect. Schoenoplectus
Sibling taxa
S. acutus, S. americanus, S. californicus, S. deltarum, S. erectus, S. etuberculatus, S. hallii, S. heterochaetus, S. mucronatus, S. pungens, S. purshianus, S. saximontanus, S. smithii, S. subterminalis, S. torreyi, S. triqueter
S. acutus, S. americanus, S. californicus, S. erectus, S. etuberculatus, S. hallii, S. heterochaetus, S. mucronatus, S. pungens, S. purshianus, S. saximontanus, S. smithii, S. subterminalis, S. tabernaemontani, S. torreyi, S. triqueter
Synonyms Scirpus tabernaemontani, Scirpus lacustris subsp. glaucus, Scirpus lacustris subsp. validus, Scirpus lacustris var. tabernaemontani, Scirpus validus, Scirpus validus var. creber Scirpus deltarum
Name authority (C. C. Gmelin) Palla: Verh. K. K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 38(Sitzungsber.): 49. (1888) (Schuyler) Soják: Cas. Nár. Mus., Odd. Prír. 141: 62. (1972)
Web links