Summary ²

Perennial rush, looks grass-like when not in flower; tufted and without rhizomes or stolons; stiffly erect flowering stems up to 60 cm. Leaves: leaf blades up to 6 mm wide, up to 12 cm long, thinly covered in long white hairs; no ligule to leaves. Flowers: flowers borne in clusters, each flower within a cluster stalkless/ on very short (< 2 mm) stalk. Subspecies congesta has compact, lobed flower head; all/ most flower clusters almost stalkless. Subspecies multi-flora flower head formed of flower clusters on erect stalks. Fruit: capsule with 3 seeds. Seeds dispersed by animals, possibly birds; seed viability in soil 1-5 years. Mostly found on acid or peaty soils.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Mike Patterson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mike Patterson
2. (c) stuwhiterod, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

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