Scheuchzeriaceae
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Scheuchzeria palustris
Stem with seeds
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Alismatales Family: Scheuchzeriaceae F.Rudolphi Genus: Scheuchzeria L.
Binomial name
Scheuchzeria palustris L.

Scheuchzeria palustris (Rannoch-rush or Scheuchzeria), is a flowering plant, the only species in the genus Scheuchzeria, itself the only genus in the family Scheuchzeriaceae. In the APG II system this is placed in the order Alismatales of the monocots.^[1]

It is a herbaceous perennial plant, native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows in wet Sphagnum peat bogs. It grows to 10-40 cm tall, with narrow linear leaves with a basal sheath. The flowers are greenish-yellow, 4-6 mm diameter, with six tepals.^[2][3][4]

There are two subspecies, not considered distinct by all authorities:^[4][5][3]

• Scheuchzeria palustris subsp. palustris. Northern and eastern Europe, northern Asia.
• Scheuchzeria palustris subsp. americana (Fernald) Hultén. Northern North America.

Etymology

The genus is named after Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, a Swiss naturalist, and his brother, Johann Kaspar Scheuchzer.^[6] The species name is from the Latin for a swamp.

The English name refers to its occurrence on Rannoch Moor in central Scotland, the first site in Great Britain the species was known from, and only one where it currently occurs; it is extinct at a few other wetland sites further south in Britain.^[7][8]

Stem with seeds, left; winter stem, right

1796 illustration

References

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Scheuchzeria palustris