''Scirpus diffusus'' is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name umbrella bulrush. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it can be found in several of the high mountain ranges from the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. It grows in

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

habitat and other moist areas, such as mountain meadows. It is similar to ''

Scirpus congdonii ''Scirpus congdonii'' is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Congdon's bulrush after noted Californian botanist J.W. Congdon. It is native to the mountains and plateaus of far northern California and adjace ...

'' and was described from

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

specimens once mislabeled as such.Schuyler, A. E. (1966). A new species of ''Scirpus'' in California. ''Brittonia'' 18:2 140-142. It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

forming a clump of erect stems growing up to a meter tall, solitary stems sometimes occurring as well. The stems are three-angled and narrow at the middle. Sheathing leaves occur at the stem bases as well as higher up the stems. 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 ...

occurs at the end of the stem, with small additional ones growing from the uppermost leaf axial. The inflorescence consists of several clusters of many spikelets wrapped at the bases in a leaflike

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
diffusus Endemic flora of California Plants described in 1966 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Cyperaceae-stub