Scirpus validus Vahl

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Cyperaceae

• Scientific Name

  Scirpus validus Vahl

• Description

  Species Description - Similar to S. acutus, avg smaller and more slender, the stems soft, easily crushed between the fingers; infl tending to be looser and more open, with longer, laxer, sometimes drooping rays, some of the spikelets often borne singly; spikelets avg smaller, seldom over 1 cm, more shining and reddish-brown; scales mostly (2–)2.5–3(–3.5) mm, with a brown or tawny ground-color, so that the striolae are not usually prominent at 10×, the awn-tip ± straight, under 0.5 mm; achenes 1.8–2.3 mm, not wholly concealed by the scales; 2n=42. Marshes and muddy shores of lakes and streams, tolerant of alkali; widespread in temperate N. Amer. and s. into tropical Amer. Fr June–Aug. (S. steinmetzii) Perhaps properly to be included in the Eurasian sp. S. tabernaemontani C. C. Gmel. or a broadly defined S. lacustris L.

• Common Names

  softstem-bulrush