Luzula comosa

Common wood rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Common wood rush is a native perennial found in woodland habitats at elevations likely in the mid to high elevation ranges of California. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces pale to mid-brown flowers in compact, variable inflorescences that can range from a single erect head to clusters of loose spikes. Growing in clumped tufts 10 to 78 centimeters tall with sturdy, nearly vertical rhizomes, it forms dense clusters with distinctive growth. Its flat leaves are notably ciliate with thickened, blunt tips, with basal leaves 7 to 36 centimeters long and 3.5 to 6 millimeters wide, and cauline leaves somewhat narrower. The small perianth parts are 2 to 3.6 millimeters long, with ellipsoid to narrowly ovoid seeds having tiny appendages.

California counties: Humboldt, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Butte, Kern, Mariposa, Mono, Tulare, Tuolumne, Alameda, Alpine, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Trinity, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Amador, Modoc, Sacramento, Shasta, Yuba, Tehama

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.