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Butomus umbellatus

(Flowering Rush Butomus Umbellatus)

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Flowering Rush, Flowering Rush Butomus Umbellatus, Flowering-Rush, Grassy Rush, Grassy-Rush, Water Gladiolus, Water-Gladiolus

Common Names in French:

Butome à Ombelle, Butome à Ombelle, Flûteau, Flûteau, Jonc Fleuri

Common Names in Romanian:

Roşăţea

Common Names in Swedish:

Blomvass

Description

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Family Cabombaceae

Herbs perennial , aquatic . Stems slender, branched, rhizomatous , repent ; internodes at first elongate and apically floating, later erect , foliate , and shortened. Leaves dimorphic . Submersed leaves (Cabomba only), opposite or sometimes whorled , palmately dissected . Floating leaves alternate, peltate, entire. Flowers solitary, axillary from distal nodes, short to long pedunculate , bisexual , hypogynous, actinomorphic , borne at or above water surface; perianth persistent . Sepals 3, separate or nearly so. Petals 3, distinct , alternating with sepals. Stamens 3--36(--51), anthers dehiscent by longitudinal slits. Pistils 3--18, simple , obclavate or ventricose . Ovary 1-loculed; ovules 1--3, pendulous. Styles short. Stigmas capitate or linear-decurrent. Fruit achenelike or folliclelike, coriaceous , indehiscent. Seed endosperm little, perisperm abundant; embryo minute; cotyledons 2, fleshy .

Two genera and six species: tropical and temperate regions ; two genera and two species in China.[1]

Genus Butomus

Plants in fresh water to 2 m deep. Leaves emersed , submersed , or floating; blade triangular proximally, flattened distally. Inflorescences overtopping leaves; scape trianglular; bracts 3, subtending umbel. Flowers: tepals light pink-purple with darker purple veins; stamens in 2 cycles, outer cycle of 3 pairs opposite outer tepals, inner cycle of 3 opposite inner tepals; anthers ovoid ; pistils pink. Fruits leathery, beaked .

Species 1: introduced , North America; Eurasia .[2]

Physical Description

Species Butomus umbellatus

Herbs, to 150 cm. Leaves linear , to 2.7 m. Inflorescences with 20--25 flowers; scape to 150 cm. Flowers 2--2.5 cm wide; pedicels 4--10 cm; outer tepals elliptic , 6--7.5 × 2--2.5 mm, apex acute, inner tepals oblanceolate , 9--11.5 × 4.5--6 mm, apex obtuse , erose; filaments 3--4.5 mm, anthers 1 mm. Follicles 1 cm. [source]

The name Butomus umbellatus f.orma vallisneriifolius (Sagorski) Glück has been used for plants that grow totally submersed or have floating leaves. Field transplant experiments with North American plants (R. L. Stuckey et al. 1990) have demonstrated that the non-flowering submersed form can be converted to a flowering mudflat form, and that flowering terrestrial plants can be transformed into non-flowering submersed ones. Consequently, B . umbellatus f. vallisneriifolius is a deep-water growth form and should have no taxonomic systematic status. [source]

Two species, Butomus umbellatus and B. junceus Turczaninow, have been recognized in the natural range of the genus (L. C. Anderson et al. 1974), the former from Europe and western Asia, and the latter from eastern Asia. Reportedly, the distinguishing features are shorter scapes, fewer flowers, and a straight stigma for B. junceus as opposed to taller plants, more flowers, and curved stigmas for B. umbellatus. [source]

Studies of Butomus in North America (L. C. Anderson et al. 1974) indicated that apparently the genus has become naturalized in North America at two separate locations, one near Detroit and another in the St . Lawrence River region. It is possible that plants naturalized in the St. Lawrence River region originated in eastern Asia, and those naturalized in the Detroit area originated in Europe or western Asia. [source]

A map of Butomus in North America, prepared by R. L. Stuckey (1994), showed that he accepted two species. His map essentially had everything east of Niagara Falls as B. junceus and everything west of the Falls as B. umbellatus. At this time, I do not accept two species in the genus. Should two species be accepted, however, determinations would essentially follow the distribution given by Stuckey. He included dots for B. umbellatus from Indiana and British Columbia. I have not observed specimens from those two areas although the species is certainly to be expected in Indiana, and eventually in British Columbia if it does not already occur there. [source]

Butomus umbellatus was first collected in North America near Laprairie on the St. Lawrence River in 1905; it was first observed in 1897 (R. L. Stuckey, pers. comm. ). West of Niagara Falls, the taxon was first collected near Detroit in 1930 by O. A. Farwell, although he noted on the specimen, "Has been here since before 1918!!!" (R. L. Stuckey 1968). [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: May, June, July, August, September, October. • Flower Color: mauve , rose

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 4-6' tall.

Habitat

Mud and shallow water of streams , lakes , and ditches; 0--700 m (Ref. 52685).

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 694 meters (0 to 2,277 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication : Sp. pl. 1:372. 1753

Name verified on 25-Jan-1996 by ARS Systematic Botanists.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Butomus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 10 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

B. caesalpini · B. floridus · B. junceus · B. lanceolatus · B. latifolius · B. scutariensis · B. umbellatus (Flowering Rush Butomus Umbellatus) · B. umbellatus 'Rosenrot' · B. umbellatus 'Schneeweisschen' · B. vulgaris

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 17, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Dezhi Fu & John H. Wiersema "Cabombaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 6 Page 119. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Butomus". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 73.140 meters (239.961 feet), Standard Deviation = 97.660 based on 6,998 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/1/2009