Introductory
SPECIES: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush 



ABBREVIATION : 
SCISUB

SYNONYMS : 
Schoenoplectus subterminalis (Torr.) Sojak [19]


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   SCSU


COMMON NAMES : 
   water bulrush
   water clubrush
   waterclub rush
   swaying club-rush


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of water bulrush is Scirpus
subterminalis Torr.  A rare terrestrial form, S. subterminalis f.
terrestris (Paine) Fern., is also recognized [16].


LIFE FORM : 
Graminoid

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
USFS Region 1 Status:  MT - watch [14].
Montana Status:  watch [14].

Water bulrush is globally secure but critically imperiled in Montana
[14], where it is rare [8].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams, October 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Scirpus subterminalis. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Water bulrush has disjunct eastern and western North American ranges.
It is absent  from the Great Plains.  It is found in the West from
southern Alaska to California, Idaho, Utah, and Montana.  In the East,
it is found from Newfoundland to Ontario, south to South Carolina,
Georgia, and Missouri [4,11,12].

Occurrence in Glacier National Park:  Lake McDonald [6].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES19  Aspen - birch
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES41  Wet grasslands


STATES : 
     AK  CA  CT  GA  ID  MA  ME  MN  MO  MT
     NH  OR  SC  VT  WA  WY  AB  BC  NB  NF
     NS  NT  ON  PQ  YT


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ACAD  GLAC  GRTE  ISRO  NOCA  OLYM


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    2  Cascade mountains
    4  Sierra Mountains
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K049  Tule marshes
   K093  Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
   K094  Conifer bogs
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Powerboat use can threaten water bulrush communities, especially if they
are rare, as in Glacier National Park, Montana [6].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Water bulrush is a native, cool-season, rhizomatous, aquatic perennial,
which grows 8 to 30 inches (20-80 cm) long.  The slender, weak stems
float on the water surface, rather than emerging above it.  There is a
solitary spike with a nearly erect, leaflike bract 0.5 to 2.5 inches
(1-6 cm) long.  The three-sided achene is 2 to 4 mm long [4].  Water
bulrush is most commonly found in the vegetative state without spikelets
[8,11].  The terrestrial form has somewhat thicker culms than the
aquatic form [16].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Helophyte
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Bulrush reproduces vegetatively by rhizomes and sexually through seed
production [2].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Water bulrush grows mostly submerged (except for the tip of the fertile
culm) in rivers, ponds, lakes, streams, and standing water up to 3 or 4
feet (0.91-1.2 m) deep at low elevations in valleys, foothills, and
montane zones [6,12,14].  It grows near inflow and outflow streams.  It
is tolerant of acidic lakes and is characteristic of mucky substrates in
water up to 6 feet (2 m) deep [10].  Water bulrush has been reported
at 2,900 to 5,900 feet (880-1,800 m) in Montana [15] and 6,800 feet
(2,073 m) in Wyoming [2].  It is associated with pondweed (Potomogeton
spp.), cowlily (Nuphar spp.), bladderwort (Utricularia spp.), sphagnum
moss (Sphagnum spp.), and Eriocaulon spp. [10].  The terrestrial form
is to be expected when water levels are abnormally low [16].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Fruit of water bulrush matures in late July and August in the Northwest
[4] and from June to September in the Northeast [12].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
       reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
       associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
       U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. 
       [434]

 .  Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
       network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
       Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
       Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p.  [806]

 .  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 .  Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular
       plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms,
       gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington
       Press. 914 p.  [1169]

 .  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
       of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
       American Geographical Society. 77 p.  [1384]

 .  Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park,
       Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27
       p.  [12049]

 .  Lesica, P.; Moore, G.; Peterson, K. M.; Rumely, J. H. (Montana Rare
       Plant Project). 1984. Vascular plants of limited distribution in
       Montana. Monograph No. 2. Montana Academy of Sciences, Supplement to the
       Proceedings, Volume 43. Bozman, MT: Montana State University, Montana
       Academy of Sciences. 61 p.  [11656]

 .  Maguire, Bassett. 1939. Distribution notes concerning plants of Glacier
       National Park, Montana-- II. Rhodora. 41: 504-508.  [12969]

 .  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

.  Roberts, Deborah A.; Singer, Robert; Boylen, Charles W. 1985. The
       submersed macrophyte communities of Adirondack lakes (New York, U.S.A.)
       of varying degrees of acidity. Aquatic Botany. 21: 219-235.  [13462]

.  Schuyler, Alfred E. 1983. Distributional notes on northwestern Montana
       aquatic vascular plants-- 1982. Bartonia. 49: 52-54.  [12968]

.  Seymour, Frank Conkling. 1982. The flora of New England. 2d ed.
       Phytologia Memoirs 5. Plainfield, NJ: Harold N. Moldenke and Alma L.
       Moldenke. 611 p.  [7604]

.  Shelly, J. Stephen, compiler. 1990. Plant species of special concern.
       Helena, MT: Montana Natural Heritage Program. 20 p.  [12960]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region. 1988.
       Sensitive plant field guide [Montana]. Missoula, MT.  [12279]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1937. Range plant
       handbook. Washington, DC. 532 p.  [2387]

.  Voss, Edward G. 1972. Michigan flora. Part I. Gymnosperms and monocots.
       Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Institute of Science; Ann Arbor, MI:
       University of Michigan Herbarium. 488 p.  [11471]

.  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

.  Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
       Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
       Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p.  [20090]

.  Kartesz, John T.; Meacham, Christopher A. 1999. Synthesis of the North 
       American flora (Windows Version 1.0), [CD-ROM]. Available: North Carolina 
       Botanical Garden. In cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, Natural 
       Resources Conservation Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [2001, 
       January 16].  [38380]
	   

Related categories for Species: Scirpus subterminalis | Water Bulrush