Western Wetland Flora
Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Luzala parviflora (Ehrh.) Desv.
- Family: Rush (Juncaceae)
- Flowering: June-August
- Field Marks: This is the only Luzala in North America with flowers borne singly in a much branched inflorescence.
- Habitat: Moist woods, rarely in open habitats.
- Habit: Perennial herb with scaly stolons.
- Stems: Upright, up to 2 feet tall, smooth, slender.
- Leaves: Elongated, narrow, up to 8 inches long, up to 1/2 inch wide smooth except for long hairs at the top of the sheath, the tips of the leaves rolled into a hardened point.
- Flowers: Borne singly at the tip of each branch, the branches numerous, the entire inflorescence up to 6 inches long, each flower subtended by 1 or more bracts.
- Sepals: 3, usually straw-colored.
- Petals: 3, usually straw-colored.
- Stamens: 6.
- Pistils: Ovary superior; stigmas 3.
- Fruits: Capsules rusty-colored to blackish, ovoid, with a persistent style; seeds elliptic, shiny, about 1/20 inch long.
- Notes: The much branched inflorescence is unlike that found in other woodrushes.
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Return to Species List -- Group 4
Next Species -- Spiked Woodrush (Luzula spicata )
