''Luzula hitchcockii'' is a species of flowering plant in the

rush family Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genus, genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble Poaceae, ...

known by the common names smooth woodrush and Hitchcock's wood rush. It is native to western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. It is sometimes treated as a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of '' Luzula glabrata''.''Luzula glabrata'' var. ''hitchcockii''.
USDA Plants Profile. This

rhizomatous 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 ...

perennial rush produces rounded, hollow stems up to 50 centimeters tall. The shiny, red-tipped leaves are a few centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

contains solitary or paired flowers with small reddish or brown

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s.''Luzula hitchcockii''.
Flora of North America. The fruit is a reddish-brown capsule which contains 3 seeds. This plant often forms large

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

. It forms a thick mat that may prevent other plants from sprouting up.Habeck, R. J. 1992.
''Luzula hitchcockii''.
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. This rush grows in the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

of stands of

subalpine fir ''Abies lasiocarpa'', the subalpine fir or Rocky Mountain fir, is a western North American fir tree. Description ''Abies lasiocarpa'' is a medium-sized evergreen conifer with a very narrow conic crown, growing to tall, exceptionally , with a ...

(''Abies lasiocarpa''),

mountain hemlock ''Tsuga mertensiana'', known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California. Description ''Tsuga mertensiana'' is a large evergreen conifer ...

(''Tsuga mertensiana''), and

subalpine larch ''Larix lyallii'', the subalpine larch, or simply alpine larch, is a deciduous, coniferous tree native to northwestern North America. It lives at high altitudes, from , in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta. Ther ...

(''Larix lyallii'') in

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

s. It occurs in high elevation habitats with long-lasting

snowpack Snowpack forms from layers of snow that accumulate in geographic regions and high elevations where the climate includes cold weather for extended periods during the year. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as th ...

. It is an

indicator Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health o ...

of cold sites with late-melting snow. Other understory species occurring with the rush include

grouse whortleberry ''Vaccinium scoparium'' is a species of huckleberry known by the common names grouse whortleberry, grouseberry, and littleleaf huckleberry. It is native to western North America, primarily in the Rockies, Cascade Range, Cascades, and Black Hills ...

(Vaccinium scoparium), Sitka valerian (''Valeriana sitchensis''), mountain arnica (''Arnica latifolia''), and

menziesia ''Menziesia'' was a genus of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. More recently it has been reclassified within the genus '' Rhododendron''. it was formally transferred in 2011. Species * ''Menziesia ciliicalyx'' (Miq.) Maxim. = '' Rhododend ...

(''Menziesia ferruginea''). This rush provides food for

grizzly bears The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

sometimes give birth in stands of the rush.

References

External links

CalPhotos Photo Gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6706702 hitchcockii Plants described in 1971 Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora without expected TNC conservation status