''Luzula multiflora'', the common woodrush or heath wood-rush, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of flowering plant in the rush family. It is native to

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 ...

, eastern Asia, northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, northern North America, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and in northern regions of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The native status of common woodrush is under some debate. While '' Flora of North America'' list it as introduced, the more common opinion is it is a circumpolar species native in North America and in parts of Europe and Asia. The taxonomy of the wood rush complex involving several ''Luzula'' spp. has a history of instability. In the past, common woodrush was classified as a variety of a European species, or ''Luzula campestris multiflora''. Both of these species of rush were then also lumped together with another similar species, '' Luzula echinata'' (hedgehog woodrush). As a result, ''Luzula multiflora'' and ''Luzula echinata'' are sometimes confused. Most of the many woodrushes that grow in North America are rather difficult to tell apart. In spite of the resemblance of rushes and woodrushes to grasses or sedges, they have the same number and arrangement of flower parts as lilies. Luzula multiflora kz2

Common woodrush grows tall with basal leaves long and wide. The flowers have six brown to black

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 long. Common woodrush is fairly easy to identify with its leaves fringed with long, white hairs (common for ''Luzula'' species) and the terminal, spike clusters of 6-parted flowers on variable length stalks, replaced by round capsules starting in late spring. Common woodrush leaves often turn reddish in response to stressful conditions ''Luzula multiflora'' resembles a grass in its vegetative state, but its seeds and scaly tepals are similar to those of other species in the rush family (Juncaceae). It is also unusual in preferring upland woodland habitats, as most species in the rush family prefer habitats that are more wet and sunny. The habitat for common woodrush is anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests, meadows and fields.

References

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External links

NatureServ: ''Luzula multiflora'' subspecies info-listings
* multiflora Flora of Canada Flora of the Northern United States Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of California Plants described in 1794 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Poales-stub