Club-rush

[poschiavanus]

I wondered if this is Grey Club-rush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani. It is recorded in this location. Flowering stems around 1.25 m high, and paler than Common Club-rush, but I can't convince myself that they are glaucous.

[Dorts]

Posch, you're right not to be convinced. Grey Club-rush - Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani has a distinctly glaucus-grey stem. It is now quite rare and local.
Your plant is Common Club-rush (Bullrush) - Schoenoplectus lacustris, which has a looser flower-head than the above.

I know the feeling with hoping it's the rarer one. We're all the same in that respect.
Dorts.

[Johnny Redgate]

Originally Posted by Dorts

Posch, you're right not to be convinced. Grey Club-rush - Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani has a distinctly glaucus-grey stem. It is now quite rare and local.
Dorts.

Funnily enough, S. tabernaemontani is the commonest of the club rushes in wetlands around old colliery spoil heaps and subsidence flashes in West Yorks. Something to do with elevated salt levels from the colliery spoil perhaps, or maybe just one of those things? I'm long moved on from W. Yorks now, I should take a trip back to check out my old sites

[poschiavanus]

I must say that I wouldn't have thought any more about it, except that the local flora explicitly mentions that particular lake.

I'd meant to bring a bit home but didn't which was why I thought I'd ask here. I wasn't particularly looking for plants at the time. I'll have to have a scout around the area again.

I've noted a couple of other local locations in former workings, so I can visit those at some time too. The tip about the more compact flower head seems very useful. Of course it also means I'll have to go and look more closely at Common Club-rush too.

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Johnny Redgate

Funnily enough, S. tabernaemontani is the commonest of the club rushes in wetlands around old colliery spoil heaps and subsidence flashes in West Yorks. Something to do with elevated salt levels from the colliery spoil perhaps, or maybe just one of those things? I'm long moved on from W. Yorks now, I should take a trip back to check out my old sites

This is indeed the case JR - there is a tetrad dot on the BSBI atlas E of Leeds for lacustris which is wrong - the plant ID was important to me as I found a discomycete fungus on it a couple of months back which appears to be new to the British Isles - you need to check for papillae on the glumes and count the number of stigmas - mine consistently had two and tabernaemontani it was; the site was a flash on a former colliery site; the stems were glaucous but I would always take a flowering/fruiting head back and check it under the dissecting scope (or a handlens - preferably x20 for the papillae)

cheers

Chris

[Dorts]

Good to hear from Johnny R. that Grey Club-rush is still doing well in some areas. As this map shows, it has greatly decreased in recent years and is now absent or rare in many of its old haunts; (dramatically in Ireland), and as can be seen, it is mainly coastal, prefering brackish water.

BSBI Maps Scheme: Hectad Map

Apart from the distinct stem colour, there are a couple more aids to a correct ID.
S. lacustris.- Up-to 3m. 3 styles.
S. tabernaemontani .- Up-to 1.5m. 2 styles. Red-dotted glumes.

So definitely worth going back for another look Posch.Will help to ID knowing that both species possibly grow together.
Dorts.