''Luzula campestris'', commonly known as field wood-rush, Good Friday grass or sweep's brush is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the rush family

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

. It is a very common plant throughout temperate

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

extending to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. This species of ''

Luzula ''Luzula'' is a genus of flowering plants in the rush family Juncaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring throughout the world, especially in temperate regions, the Arctic, and higher elevation areas in the tropi ...

'' is found on all types of native

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s, and cultivated areas such as lawns, golf-course greens and fields.

Description

''Luzula campestris'' is relatively short, between tall. It spreads via short stolons and also via seed produced in one stemless cluster of flowers together with three to six stemmed clusters of flowers. It flowers between March and June in the northern temperate zone (September to December in the southern hemisphere). The

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

number is 12, 24 or 36. The plant can be a persistent

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

in ornamental turf.

Distribution

The native range of ''Luzula campestris'' is temperate Europe, extending to North Africa in the south and to the Caucasus in the east. The species has a northern limit at about latitude 63 degrees north in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. The closely related ''

Luzula multiflora ''Luzula multiflora'', the common woodrush or heath wood-rush, is a species of flowering plant in the rush family. It is native to Europe, eastern Asia, northern Africa, northern North America, including Canada, and in northern regions of the ...

'' is native in much of North America, and is a distinct species in the ''Flora of North America''. Some botanists treat it as a variety, ''Luzula campestris'' var. ''multiflora''. ''Luzula campestris'' has been introduced worldwide outside its native range, into suitable habitats in the southern hemisphere.

References

External links

campestris Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Flora of Germany Flora of Poland Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Poales-stub