Mucronate Bulrush

Scientific name: Schoenoplectus mucronatus (L.) Palla
Family: Cyperaceae

MORPHOLOGY

Habit and Size: Perennial herbaceous plant, 40 to 100 cm tall.

Stem: Multiple stems clumping together, weak and compressible, erect, trigonal with concave faces.

Leaves: Abortive leaves, reduced to only sheaths at the basal part of the stem.

Flowers: Inflorescence consists of 3-8 sessile spikelets, ovoid, 5-10 mm long, brown-green, arranged in a sessile cluster; a linear bract with an acute apex of 3-5 cm is present. The flowers are inconspicuous (5-10 mm) and hermaphroditic; the perianth is absent, replaced by smooth, oval glumes with a mucro. Blooms from May to August.

Fruits and Seeds: The fruit is a trigonal fusiform achene (1.5-2 mm) with a triangular cross-section and transverse striations.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Grows in central-northern Italy and Sicily, from 0 to 300 m in lakes, rivers, and watercourses with roots immersed in mud.

Photo: licensed free of charge from iNaturalist