''Scheuchzeria palustris'' (Rannoch-rush,
or pod grass), is a
flowering plant in the
family Scheuchzeriaceae, in which there is only one species and ''Scheuchzeria'' is the only genus. In the
APG II system it is placed in the order
Alismatales of the
monocots.
[L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants]
Scheuchzeriaceae
/ref>
Description
It is a herbaceous
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition of t ...
perennial plant, native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
, where it grows in wet '' Sphagnum'' peat bogs. It grows to 10–40 cm tall, with narrow linear leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
alternating up the stem, with a basal sheath. The leaves can be up to 20 cm. The leaf tips are blunt with a conspicuous pore.rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
clothed in papery, straw coloured remains of old leaf bases.
The flowers are greenish-yellow, 4–6 mm diameter, with six tepals. They have an inflated sheathing base, 6 stamens and 3 carpels. It flowers from June until August[Flora of NW Europe]
''Scheuchzeria palustris''
/ref>[Flora of North America]
''Scheuchzeria palustris''
/ref>[Jepson Flora Project]
''Scheuchzeria palustris''
/ref>
There are two subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
, not considered distinct by all authorities:[USDA Plants Profile]
''Scheuchzeria palustris''
/ref>
*''Scheuchzeria palustris'' subsp. ''palustris''. Northern and eastern Europe, northern Asia.
*''Scheuchzeria palustris'' subsp. ''americana'' (Fernald) Hultén. Northern North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
Etymology
The genus is named after Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, a Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
naturalist, and his brother, Johann Gaspar Scheuchzer
Johannes Gaspar Scheuchzer (1684 -1738) was a Swiss botanist and plant collector. He was the brother of Swiss scholar Johann Jakob Scheuchzer
Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (2 August 1672 – 23 June 1733) was a Swiss scholar born at Zürich.
H ...
.[Helmut Genaust (1983): Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen, 2. Auflage. Birkhäuser Verlag - ] The species name is from the Latin for a swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
.
The English name refers to its occurrence on Rannoch Moor in central Scotland, the first site in Great Britain the species was known from, and only one where it currently occurs; it is extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
at a few other wetland sites further south in Britain, being found in pools and wet hollows of ancient undisturbed Sphagnum bogs.[Joint Nature Conservation Committe]
Rannoch Moor
/ref>[Wildassociates]
File:ScheuchzeriaPalustris.jpg, Flowering plant
Image:ScheuchzeriaPalustrisColl.jpg, Stem with seeds, left; winter stem, right
Image:Scheuchzeria palustris Sturm3.jpg, 1796 illustration
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q156984
Monotypic Alismatales genera