Luzula cascadensis
Family: Juncaceae · Type: Perennial · Native
Luzula cascadensis is a native California perennial in the Juncaceae family.
Cascade woodrush is a California native perennial found in high elevation meadows, wetlands, and creek banks of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains at elevations of 1,000 to 3,400 meters. Flowering occurs during the growing season, this plant produces small pale to dark brown flowers in dense umbel-like clusters. Growing with elongate, fragile rhizomes and stems 10 to 70 centimeters tall, it forms clumps in seasonally saturated soils. Its flat leaves are 4 to 23 centimeters long, 1.5 to 5.7 millimeters wide, with distinctive ciliate edges and thickened blunt tips. The small obovoid fruits are shorter than the perianth, with seeds measuring 1 to 1.6 millimeters long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Geographically isolated species with distinctive wetland habitat
Habitat and range
Habitat: Seasonally to perennially saturated soils, peatlands, springs, pond shores, wet meadows, creek banks
Elevation: 1000-3400 m
Outside California: to Washington, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, northern Baja California
How to tell it apart
vs Juncus: Run finger along leaf edge - hairy = Luzula, smooth = Juncus.; vs Carex: Luzula has hairy leaf margins; Carex has smooth margins and triangular stems.
Frequently asked questions
Is Luzula cascadensis native to California?
Yes. Luzula cascadensis is native to California (recorded as native).
What plant family does Luzula cascadensis belong to?
Luzula cascadensis is in the Juncaceae family, genus Luzula.
What habitat does Luzula cascadensis grow in?
Luzula cascadensis grows in Seasonally to perennially saturated soils, peatlands, springs, pond shores, wet meadows, creek banks.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-09-30
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.