Luzula orestera

Heath wood rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Heath wood rush is a native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in moist to wet subalpine to alpine meadows, fell-fields, and talus at elevations of 2,500 to 3,700 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces dark brown flowers in dense, compact clusters up to 1.2 centimeters long. Growing with stout, erect stems 2 to 16 centimeters tall, it forms dense tufted clumps with a distinctive cespitose growth habit. Its basal leaves are flat, 3 to 8 centimeters long and 1.5 to 4.5 millimeters wide, with characteristically blunt or rounded tips and a thickened blade end. The plant's lower bracts are often prominent, leaf-like, and varying from green to red, standing stiffly ascending or erect.

Habitat: Moist to wet subalpine to alpine meadows, peaty shores, fell-fields, talus

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 2500-3700 m

Bioregions: SNH.

California counties: Inyo, Tulare, Fresno, Mono, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Madera, Placer

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