Common woodrush facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Common woodrush |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Luzula
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| Species: |
multiflora
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Luzula multiflora, also known as the common woodrush or heath wood-rush, is a type of flowering plant. It belongs to the rush family, which are plants that often look like grasses or sedges.
Contents
Discovering the Common Woodrush
Where Does the Common Woodrush Live?
This plant grows naturally in many parts of the world. You can find it in Europe, eastern Asia, northern Africa, and northern North America. This includes Canada and the northern parts of the United States.
Scientists have debated if it is truly native to North America. However, many now agree it is a "circumpolar" species. This means it grows naturally in northern areas all around the world.
What Does the Common Woodrush Look Like?
The common woodrush usually grows between 10 and 40 centimeters (about 4 to 16 inches) tall. Its leaves at the bottom of the plant are long and thin. They can be from 3.5 to 12 centimeters (about 1.5 to 4.7 inches) long. These leaves are also 2 to 6 millimeters (about 0.08 to 0.24 inches) wide.
One easy way to spot a common woodrush is by its leaves. They often have long, white hairs along their edges. This is a common feature for many Luzula species.
The flowers of the common woodrush have six parts called tepals. These tepals are brown to black and are about 2 to 4 millimeters (0.08 to 0.16 inches) long. The flowers grow in clusters at the top of the plant. After the flowers, round seed capsules appear in late spring.
Sometimes, the leaves of the common woodrush turn reddish. This happens when the plant is under stress, like from dry weather.
Where Does It Prefer to Grow?
Even though it looks like a grass, the common woodrush is part of the rush family. Most plants in the rush family like wet and sunny places. However, the common woodrush is a bit different. It prefers to grow in upland woodland areas.
You can also find this plant in places changed by humans. This includes forest edges, forests, meadows, and open fields.
How Is It Related to Other Plants?
It can be tricky to tell the common woodrush apart from other similar plants. In the past, it was sometimes grouped with other species. For example, it was once thought to be a type of Luzula campestris. It was also confused with Luzula echinata, which is called the hedgehog woodrush.
Most of the many woodrushes that grow in North America are quite hard to tell apart. Even though rushes and woodrushes look like grasses, their flowers are similar to lilies. They have the same number and arrangement of flower parts.
