Schoenoplectus californicus

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Schoenoplectus californicus
California bulrush
Scirpus californicus flowers 2005-03-24.jpg
Inflorescence
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Schoenoplectus
Species:
S. californicus
Binomial name
Schoenoplectus californicus
Synonyms [1]
  • Dichromena atrosanguinea
  • Elytrospermum californicum
  • Malacochaete assimilis
  • Malacochaete chilense
  • Malacochaete oligostachya
  • Malacochaete riparia
  • Malacochaete sanguinolenta
  • Malacochaete tatora
  • Schoenoplectus chamissoi
  • Schoenoplectus pseudotriqueter
  • Schoenoplectus riparius
  • Schoenoplectus tatora
  • Scirpus californicus
  • Scirpus chamissoi
  • Scirpus decipiens
  • Scirpus pseudotriqueter
  • Scirpus rigidus
  • Scirpus tereticulmis

Schoeneoplectus californicus is a species of sedge known by the common names California bulrush, [2] southern bulrush and giant bulrush. It is also sometimes called "tule", but the closely related Schoenoplectus acutus is the species most often referred to by that name.

Contents

Description

Schoenoplectus californicus is a rhizomed water plant found in marshy areas. It is native to the southern and western United States as well as Mexico, Central America, South America, Easter Island, and the Falkland Islands. It is naturalized on some Pacific islands including New Zealand, Hawaii and the Cook Islands. [1] [3] [4] [5] It has tall, thin, dark green stems which are usually triangular in cross-section and woolly, bristly tan or brown flowers in panicle inflorescences. [6] [7]

Caballos de Totora in Huanchaco Peru Detalle Caballos de Totora.jpg
Caballos de Totora in Huanchaco Peru

Uses

A notable subspecies is the totora, Schoenoplectus californicus subsp. tatora. This is famous for making up the floating islands on which the Uros people of Lake Titicaca dwell, as well as occurring on isolated Easter Island in the Pacific. [8]

Boats have also been made from this plant by many cultures, including the Caballito de totora in Peru for over 3,000 years. The plants are still farmed in wetlands next to the sea for the boats, and there is also an ecological reserve that specifically protects these sedge farms called the Swamps of Huanchaco. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Schoenoplectus acutus</i> Species of plant

Schoenoplectus acutus, called tule, common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the plant family Cyperaceae, native to freshwater marshes all over North America. The common name derives from the Nāhuatl word tōllin, and it was first applied by the early settlers from New Spain who recognized the marsh plants in the Central Valley of California as similar to those in the marshes around Mexico City.

<i>Schoenoplectus</i> Genus of plants

Schoenoplectus is a genus of plants in the sedge family with a cosmopolitan distribution. Note that the name bulrush is also applied to species in the unrelated genus Typha as well as to other sedges. The genus Schoenoplectus was formerly considered part of Scirpus, but recent phylogenetic data shows that they are not closely related.

<i>Scirpus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Scirpus is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush. They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totora (plant)</span> Species of plant

Totora is a subspecies of the giant bulrush sedge. It is found in South America, notably on Lake Titicaca, the middle coast of Peru and on Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. The genus Schoenoplectus is closely related to Scirpus and sometimes included therein. This plant can reach a height of 6 m (20 ft) and commonly reaches 4 m (13 ft). The word totora comes from the Quechua language.

<i>Bolboschoenus fluviatilis</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, the river bulrush, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Its range includes Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Canada, the United States, and northeastern Mexico. B. fluviatilis and its fruits are important as food sources for waterfowl such as geese, ducks, bitterns, and swans. It also provides cover and nesting sites for these and other species of birds, as well as small mammals. Like other Bolboschoenus species, B. fluviatilis has strong tubers and rhizomes which help to stabilize intertidal habitats by preventing erosion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caballito de totora</span>

Caballitos de totora are reed watercraft used by fishermen in Peru for the past 3000 years, archaeologically evidenced from pottery shards. Named for the way they are ridden, straddled, fishermen use them to transport their nets and collect fish in their inner cavity. The name is not the original name, as horses were not introduced to South America until after the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. The ancient Mochica name of the watercraft is tūp. They are made from the same reed, the totora, used by the Uru people on Lake Titicaca, and considered part of the Peruvian's National Cultural Heritage since 2016.

<i>Schoenoplectus pungens</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus pungens is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known as common threesquare, common three-square bulrush and sharp club-rush. It is a herbaceous emergent plant that is widespread across much of North and South America as well as Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

<i>Schoenoplectus americanus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus americanus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names chairmaker's bulrush and Olney's three-square bulrush. It is native to the Americas, where it is known from Alaska to Nova Scotia and all the way into southern South America; it is most common along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States and in parts of the western states. It grows in many types of coastal and inland wetland habitat, as well as sagebrush, desert scrub, chaparral, and plains. This rhizomatous perennial herb easily exceeds two meters in height. The stiff stems are sharply three-angled and usually very concave between the edges. Each plant has three or fewer leaves which are short and narrow. The inflorescence is a small head of several spikelets which may be brown to bright orange, red, purplish, or pale and translucent. They have hairy edges. The fruit is a brown achene. The plant reproduces sexually by seed and colonies spread via vegetative reproduction, sprouting from the rhizomes.

<i>Scirpus congdonii</i> Species of grass-like plant

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 adjacent sections of southern Oregon and western Nevada. It can be found in wetland habitat and other moist areas, such as mountain meadows and waterways. It is a perennial herb forming a loose or dense clump of erect stems growing up to half 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 occurs at the end of the stem, with small additional ones growing from leaf axils. The inflorescence consists of several clusters of many spikelets wrapped at the bases in a leaflike bract.

<i>Schoenoplectus heterochaetus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus heterochaetus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name slender bulrush. It is native to North America, where it can be found in scattered locations in Canada and the United States.

<i>Schoenoplectiella mucronata</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectiella mucronata is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names bog bulrush, rough-seed bulrush, and ricefield bulrush. It is native to Eurasia, Africa and Australia. It grows in moist and wet terrestrial habitat, and in shallow water. It is a perennial herb growing from a short, hard rhizome. The erect, three-angled stems grow in dense clumps and can reach a metre tall. The leaves take the form of sheaths wrapped around the base of stem, but they generally do not have blades. The inflorescence is a headlike cluster of cone-shaped spikelets accompanied by an angled, stiff bract which may look like a continuation of the stem.

<i>Scirpus pendulus</i> Species of plant

Scirpus pendulus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names pendulous bulrush, rufous bulrush, and nodding bulrush. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout the eastern United States and Canada, through the American midwest, some areas of the western United States, and into Mexico. It is also known as an introduced species in Australia. It grows in many types of moist and wet habitat, including disturbed areas such as ditches, and sometimes in drier areas. It is a perennial herb growing from a short, thick rhizome system. The erect, three-angled stems grow singly or in tufts and clumps, easily reaching one meter tall. Sheathing leaves occur at the stem bases as well as higher up the stems, the blades reaching up to 40 centimeters. The inflorescence is a panicle of many clusters of spikelets which hang on long, thin branches, often nodding or drooping, especially as the fruit develops.

<i>Bolboschoenus robustus</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Bolboschoenus robustus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It is known by many common names: saltmarsh bulrush, alkali bulrush, sturdy bulrush, seacoast bulrush, stout bulrush, three-cornered sedge or leafy three-cornered sedge, and seaside club-rush.

<i>Schoenoplectus subterminalis</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus subterminalis is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names water bulrush, water club-rush, and swaying bulrush. It is native to North America, where it is known from many parts of the Canada and the United States. It has been common in the northeastern US and eastern Canada as well as the Great Lakes region, as well as many locations in the mountains of the West, though apparently absent from the Southwest and from most of the Great Plains.

<i>Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names softstem bulrush, grey club-rush, and great bulrush. It can be found throughout much of the world; it has been reported from every state in the United States, and from every province and territory in Canada except Nunavut. It grows in moist and wet habitat, and sometimes in shallow water.

<i>Scirpus ancistrochaetus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Scirpus ancistrochaetus is a rare species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names barbedbristle bulrush and northeastern bulrush. It is native to the northeastern United States from New Hampshire south to Virginia. It used to be found in Quebec but it is now thought to be extirpated there. It was also believed extirpated from the state of New York, but at least one population has been rediscovered in Steuben County in 2010. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its wetland habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species.

<i>Schoenoplectiella hallii</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectiella hallii is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Hall's bulrush. It is native to the United States, where it has a disjunct distribution, occurring in widely spaced locations throughout the Midwest and East. It is a rare plant.

Scirpus longii is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Long's bulrush. It is native to eastern North America, where it is limited to the Atlantic coastal plain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swamps of Huanchaco</span> Peruvian ecologial reserve

Swamps of Huanchaco, also known as Wetlands of Huanchaco is an ecological Chimu reserve located in Huanchaco Beach, about 14 km northwest of Trujillo city, Peru. From this ecological reserve the ancient mochica extracted the raw material for the manufacture of the ancient Caballitos de totora used since the time of the Moche for fishing. Currently Huanchaco fishermen still use their materials from this swamps to make their ships of work.

<i>Schoenoplectus lacustris</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus lacustris, the lakeshore bulrush or common club-rush, is a species of club-rush that grows in fresh water across Europe and some neighbouring areas.

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Schoenoplectus californicus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  3. Biota of North America Program, 2013 country distribution map
  4. Adams, C. D. 1994. 17. Schoenoplectus (H.G. Reichb.) Palla. 6: 449–450. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D. F.
  5. Forzza, R. C. 2010. Lista de espécies Flora do Brasil http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2010. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
  6. Jepson Interchange: Schoenoplectus californicus
  7. Gonzalez. 2007. Sinopsis de Scirpus s.l. (Cyperaceae) para México. Acta Botánica Mexicana 82: 15–41.
  8. Charles Heiser. 1978. The Totora (Scirpus Californicus) in Ecuador and Peru. Economic Botany July–September 1978, Volume 32, Issue 3, pp 222-236
  9. "(spanish) Swamps of Huanchaco" (PDF). Retrieved 2 May 2021.