Kingdom Plantae Genus Scheuchzeria
L. Higher classification Scheuchzeria | Order Alismatales Scientific name Scheuchzeria palustris Rank Species | |
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Family Scheuchzeriaceae
F.Rudolphi Similar Carex limosa, Rhynchospora alba, Juncaginaceae, Butomus, Zosteraceae | ||
Scheuchzeria palustris (Rannoch-rush, or pod grass), is a flowering plant, the only species in the genus Scheuchzeria, itself the only genus in the family Scheuchzeriaceae. In the APG II system this is placed in the order Alismatales of the monocots.
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Description
It is a herbaceous perennial plant, native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows in wet Sphagnum peat bogs. It grows to 10–40 cm tall, with narrow linear leaves 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.
It has a creeping rhizome 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
There are two subspecies, not considered distinct by all authorities:
Etymology
The genus is named after Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, a Swiss naturalist, and his brother, Johann Kaspar Scheuchzer. The species name is from the Latin for a swamp.
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 at a few other wetland sites further south in Britain, being found in pools and west hollows of ancient undisturbed Sphagnum bogs.
