Creeping Spike Rush (Eleocharis palustric)

General:  A perennial, 10-100 cm tall, with an oval stem.  It arises singularly or in clusters from a long dark brown rhizome, and a reddish sheath at the base.

Leaves:  Basal, and with sheaths.

Inflorescence:  Brown, terminal, lance to egg shaped, solitary spikelets (5-25 mm long).  It has several fertile scales with 2 or 3 empty scales at the base, spirally arranged, with 2 stigmas.

Fruit:  Yellowish-brown, lens shaped achenes, which are 1-1.5 mm long.  The achenes are surrounded by a conical tubercle, which is surrounded by 4 bristles.

Ecology:  Found at low to mid elevations, in wet sites, such as ditches, meadows, and marshes.

Propagation: Dig up 10 cm clusters and transplant as 2-3cm plugs in fall and early winter.

General:  Perennial, thick, scaly, reddich-brown rhizomes, which may form large colonies.  The stem is 1-3 m tall, cylindrical, erect, and in rows along the rhizomes.

Leaves:  Few leaves, those present are at or near the base. They are reduced to prominent membraneous, sheaths.  The blades are poorly developed or absent.

Inflorescence:  Brown spikelets, about 8-15 mm long.  Several or many of them together, in an open or compact, branched terminal cluster.  Many bracts, 1-10 cm long, greenish, which appear as an extention of the stem.

Fruit:  Achenes, about 2 mm long, and hidden by brownish to pale-grey spirally arranged scales.  Scales are surrounded by fragile whitish bristles, about as long as the achenes.

Ecology:  Frequency in the southern half of the region, at low elevations.  It occurs in wet areas.

Propagation:  Not available.

General: Densely tufted along long, stout rhizomes, purplish, with shreddy sheaths at the base.

Leaves: The leaves are shorter than the stems, and are course and firm, 3-10 mm wide, flat to channeled, with the margins rolled under.

Inflorescence:  The lower 2-4 spikes are female and cylindrical, while the upper 1-3 spikes are male and, often curved.

Perigynia:  Shiny brown, or yellowish-green, plump, elliptic, leathery, and thick walled, scales are purplish-black, and sharp tipped.

Ecology:  Commonly found in wet areas at low elevation.

Propagation:
Seed: Collect by hand in June and July.  Separate the seeds from the seed head, and store in the fridge.  Sow in the fall or cold stratify, and sow in February.

 General:  A perennial hairy herb, with long runners.

 Leaves:  Basal, compound, pinnate leaves with a mixture of large and small leaves, which are wooly beneath.

 Flowers:  Yellow, single, oval flowers, on leafless stalks.

 Fruit:  Flattened oval achenes, up to 2 mm long.

 Ecology:  Common in areas of low to middle elevation, less common further north.  It is usually, but not always found near the sea, in either wet or sandy spots.

 Propagation: Not available.

General:  Perennial, erect or ascending stems, 15-60 cm tall, short rhizomes, glanular and hairy.

Leaves:  Mail leaves are basal with long stalks, and 3 irregularly lobed, coarsely toothed leaflets; smaller stems have leaves with shorter stalks.

Flowers:  Several, tiny, white flowers on elongate clusters at the end of short, wire-like stalks.

Fruit:  Resembles sugar scoops and bear shiny smooth black seeds.

Ecology:  Coniferous forests, shady moist sites, in clearings at subalpine to mid elevations.

Propagation:  Not available

General:  A perennial, 10-80 cm tall.  It is simple to branched, upright, hairless, with slender stolons and rhizomes.

Leaves:  1-3 cm long, lance shaped, narrow, stalkless, with purple-black dots.

Flowers:  Yellow, 2 cm across, narrowly lanced shaped sepals, and 5 petals, with numerous stamens, dark dots or toothed along the margins.  The flower is found in clusters on top of the stem.

Fruit:  Three chambered capsules, 6-9 mm long, containing brownish seeds, 1 mm or longer, with rows or pits.

Ecology:  Found at low to sub alpine elevations, and scattered in moist open sites.

Propagation: Not available

General: Erect, unbranched, stemmed perennial from rhizomes, 70-150 cm tall, leafy with bristly hair on the angles.

Leaves: Opposite, 6-15 cm long, stalked, bluntly toothed, egg-heart shaped, long and hairy on both sides.

Flowers: Red-purple, 23-40 mm long, hairy, stalkless tubes with lobed lips, 4 stamen and 4-lobed ovary, several in terminal clusters.

Fruit: 4 nutlets.

Ecology: Moist areas and open woods, roadsides, thickets, low elevations.

Propagation: Not available.

General: Perennial, 15- 150 cm tall, and is hairy or glandular on top, short or no rhizomes, leaves are erect, branched or in simple stems.

Leaves:  Opposite, lance shaped or oval, toothed margins, pointed tip and overlapping in crowds, to remotely spaced.

Flowers:  White, pink or purplish, small (2-8 mm), in erect, leafy, bract clusters, atop a stem.

Fruit:  Hairy, pod-like capsules, 3-10 cm long, which contain rough and hairy seeds.

Ecology:  At low to mid elevation, in moist areas and disturbed sites.

Propagation:  Not available.

General:  Herbaceous perennial from rhizome-like roots, unbranched leafy stem to 3 m tall, purplish and hairy at top.

Leaves: Alternate, 5-20 cm long, lance-shaped, smooth margins, stalkless, dark and hairy above, paler, hairless and distinctly veined below.

Flowers: Large (2-4 cm across), pink-purple, stalked with 4 lobes, sepals, petals, and stigma, in long clusters of 15 or more atop the stem.

Fruit: Green-red, long (4-9 cm), narrow, 4 chambered capsules containing hundreds of fluffy white seeds.

Ecology:  Moist to dry disturbed sites and in meadows, thickets, river bars, locally abundant on outer coastal lines.

Propagation:
Seed: Collect and sow in either spring or fall in warm, well-lighted, humid conditions.  Store seed for up to 24 months.
Vegetative: Propagate by root cuttings 32 cm long planted 5 cm deep.

Management:  Not available.

General: Annual herb, ill scented, erect stems, 10-60 cm tall, branched or simple and basically hairless.

Leaves: Divided into 2-3 narrow, essentially hairless segments, dotted with glands.

Flowers: 10-20 white ray flowers, 5-10 mm long, with yellow centre disk.  Each flower head is alone at the end of uppermost branches.

Fruit: Small and dry with one seed, slightly flattened.

Ecology: Fields, roadsides and disturbed soil, low elevations.

Propagation: Not available.

General:  Perennial, 20-80 cm tall, which smells like sage, simple or branched once from woody rhizomes, and hairless to slightly hairy.

Leaves:  Stalked basal leaves, stalkless, spoon shaped to oblong upward, with lobed margins.

Flowers:  White ray flowers, which are 1-2 cm long and across, with yellow disks, and solitary at the branch end.

Fruit:  Black achenes, with approximately 10 white ribs and no pappus.

Ecology:  Found at low elevations, in settled areas, fields and meadows.

Propagation:  Not available.

General:  A perennial with a vanilla-like fragrance when dry.  It spreads widely by rhizomes.  It is hairless and sends up single leaves at intervals along the rhizomes.

Leaves:  Basal, stalked (10-30 cm long), 3 fan-shaped leaves (resembles a goose or deer foot).  They are asymmetrical, coarsely blunt-toothed leaflets, and are usually held horizontally.

Flowers:  White, lack sepals and petals, but have 8-20 long white stamens.  They have snowy white spikes, that are 2-5 cm long and 1 cm thick.

Fruit:  Crescent-shaped dark grey-brown to reddish-purple achenes, and very finely hairy.  The inner side is concave, and there is a somewhat fleshy to leathery, thickened ridge.

Ecology:  Found at low to middle elevations, and is especially abundant along streambanks.  It is commonly and locally abundant.

Propagation: Not available.

General:  A soft, hairless perennial, stems do not have leaves, but have flowers, and stands upright.

Leaves:  Fern-like and dividing into narrowly oblong end segments.

Flowers:  Pinkish-purple flowers that are in clusters of 5-15, atop one stem, drooping, and heart-shaped at the base.

Fruit:  Pod-like capsules, which have several black, shiny seeds.  There is an oil rich appendage that attracts ants, which disperse the seeds.

Ecology:  It is common in moist forests, ravines, and stream banks.

Propagation:
Seed:  Collected during August and September.  Clean the seeds, using a hammermill.  Fresh seeds should be sown in late summer or fall, or stored in a fridge over winter.
Vegetative:  Divide the large rhizomes before flowering in the spring or after flowering.

General:  Erect, to 1 m tall, perennial herb.  Hairless bellow, sparsely hairy and somewhat glandular in the inflorescence.

Leaves:  Divided twice into 3’s.  The mainly basal blades are hairless to hairy, green above, with paler and glaucous underside.

Flowers:  2-5 flowers, drooping, red and yellow, with 5 long reddish spurs; and bulbous, glandular hips.  The central tufts of the stamen and styles are protruding.

Fruits:  Usually 5 erect follicles with spreading, hairy hips and many, black, wrinkled seeds.

Ecology:  Variety of moist sites, open to partially shaded, low to subalpine elevations.

Propagation:
Seed:  Tiny black seeds mature during June-August.  They can be harvested when seed head dries.  To release seeds, gently crush dried head and scalp with an air screen.  Store for up to two years at low temperature and humidity, and longer if sealed in low moisture.  Prior to germination, seeds should be pre-chilled for 3 days.  Cover with thin layer of soil, or weed-free compost and keep moist.

General:  Up to 2 m tall.  Fronds clustered, erect and spreading.

Leaves:  2-3 times pinnate.  Upper and lower leaflets are progressively reduced.  20-40 pairs of leaflets, with ultimate leaflets being toothed or lobed.

Sori:  Elongated and curved, indusium attached on 1 side, with hairs and teeth.

Ecology:  Found at all elevations, in moist to wet forests, thickets, swamps, slidetracks, openings, streambanks, meadows, gullies and clearings.

Propagation:  Not available.

General:  A perennial, with strong rhizomes, and highly invasive, erect, leafy, and simple or branched above 0.5-2 m tall.

Leaves:  Mostly opposite, some times in 3's or alternate, lance-shaped, with a  heart-shaped base, pointed, hairy, and 3-10 cm long.

Flowers:  Reddish- purple flowers, with 5 sepals, which are fused into a basal tube, and usually 5 petals, which are somewhat crinkled, 7-10 mm long, with 8-10 stamens, and 3 lengths numerous in long, crowded, interrupted spikes, atop a stem.

Fruit:  Long capsules, with 2 chambers and numerous seeds.

Ecology:  At low elevations, and in wet areas.  Scattered to locally abundant.

Management: Germinates quickly and grows faster than most other Canadian wetland species.  Can completely dominate a wetland if left unchecked.  To stop this plant from spreading, pull and burn the plant, root, and seed materials.  Since 1991 three species of beetle have been approved and found effective against purple loosestrife.  For more details, contact Ministry of Agriculture or Agriculture Canada.

General: A nonnative perennial herb, 2-20 cm tall.  It is spreading, hairy, fibrous-rooted, and the flowering stems are leafless.

Leaves:  Elliptic or circular, basal, with toothed margins, and rounded at the tip.

Flowers:  White to pink or purple ray flowers, with yellow disks, and solitary heads.

Fruit: Flattened 2 veined achenes, soft and hairy, with no pappus.

Ecology:  Found in urban areas, such as lawns, roadsides and pastures.

Propagation: Not available.

General:  A perennial, 0.70-2 m tall, with a hollow stem, and long, scaly, pinkish rhizomes.

Leaves:  5-15 mm wide and 4-10 mm long.  They are rough, flat, with over lapping margins, and open sheaths.  The ligules are usually tattered and turned backward, and slightly hairy, no auricles.

Inflorescence:  Panicle, compact initially, 25 cm long, 3 flowered spikelets, which are crowded to the side of the branch, glumes about the same size (45 mm), with fine hairs.  The fertile lemmas are 4 mm long, shiny and flax-like, while the sterile lemmas are 2 mm long with brown hairs.

Ecology: In wet places, at low to mid elevations, around areas of human activity or agriculture, such as clearings, and ditches.

Management:  Not available.

General: Evergreen, to 1.5 m tall, with erect leaves forming a crown from a stout, woody, scaly rhizome.

Leaves: Dry, scaly stipe, lance shpaed blade, once pinnate, alternate leaflets, pointed, sharp-toothed, with small lobe pointing forward at base of leaf.

Sori: Large, circular, midway between midvein and margin, round indusium, with fringed margins and centrally attached.

Ecology: Moist forest at low to mid elevations, widespread on southern Vancouver Island.

Propagation: Not available

General: Evergreen, medium sized, tufted at end of short, stout rhizome.

Leaves: 2 frond types; sterile leaves often pressed to ground, evergreen, to 1 m tall, 35-70 pairs of leaflets, widely spaced, and oblong, 5 cm long and 3-7 mm wide, tapered toward top and bottom of the frond. Fertile leaves similar, but upright, sprouting from centre of the clump, deciduous, narrower leaflets that roll around the sori.

Sori: Continuous and distributed near the margin, protected by translucent brown indusium attached close to margin.

Ecology: Moist and wet forests, slide areas, common with alder, in stream banks and bogs, low to subalpine elevations.

Propagation: Not available.

Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)

General: Deciduous, large, singular fronds to 3-5 m tall, spreading rhizome, with branching below surface, hairy.

Leaves: Triangular blades, 2-3 times pinnate, stout stipes straw coloured to greenish, and longer than blades; 10 or more leaflet pairs, mostly opposite, lowest pair triangular, higher pairs progressively more lance-shaped, ultimate segments round toothed.

Sori: Marginal, continuous, covered by rolled leaf margin, indusium not evident. Ecology: Meadows, roadsides, clearings, burns, dry, to wet forests, acidic soil, from low to subalpine elevations.

Propagation: Not available.

General: Stems usually clustered, stout, triangular and leafy, up to 1.5 m tall.

Leaves: Several growing out from base and stem. Flat, 10-15 mm wide, with purplish sheaths.

Inflorescence: Numerous short spikelets in small clusters at the ends of stalks.

Fruits: Pale and seed-like, pointy-tipped achenes, 1 mm long, each surrounded by 4-6 bristles.

Ecology: Found in swamps, sloughs, streambanks, wet ditches and clearings. Low to middle elevations.

Propagation: Not Available.

General: Trailing vine-like stems along the ground, 5m or more in length. Stems have slender, curved, unflattened prickles. Produces erect floral canes in second year, up to 50 cm tall.

Leaves: Deciduous, alternate, with 3 leaflets 3-7 cm long each. Terminal leaflet is 3-lobed, dark green and toothed.

Flowers: White or pink clusters, each flower up to 4 cm across. Male and female flowers on separate plants.

Fruits: Blackberries up to 1 cm long.

Ecology: Common on disturbed sites, thickets and dry,open forest at low to middle elevations. Often weedy.

Propagation: Only blackberry native to British Columbia.

Seed: Collect summer to fall. Warm stratify at 20-30 C for 90 days, then cold stratify at 2-5 C for 90 days. Scarification using sulfuric acid can also be effective. Plant scarified seed in late summer to early fall. Plant stratified and scarified seed in the spring. Cover with 3-5 mm soil.

Vegetative: Sprouts readily from suckers, nonrhizomatous sprouts, or from trailing stems.

General: Erect to sprawling stems, up to 10 m long. Often distinctly 4 angled, armed with large, stout thorns. Can form dense, impenetrable thickets.

Leaves: Mostly evergreen some deciduous. Trifoliate to 5-foliate, 12-25 cm wide, oval, toothed leaflets that are green above with white hairs below.

Flowers: White to slightly pink, 2-3 cm across. Five petals each in flower clusters of 5 to 20.

Fruits: Blackberries 1 to 1.5 cm long.

Ecology: Invasive plant from India via England. Thrives in disturbed sites and streamside areas.

Propagation: Do not propagate!

General: Perennial. Stems thick, unbranched and cylindrical. Up to 3 m tall.

Leaves: Alternate, flat, long, narrow, 1-2 cm wide.

Flowers: Tiny but numerous and stacked into a cylindrical spike. Lower part of the spike is composed of female flowers 15-20 cm long, 1-3 cm thick and dark brown. Upper part of the spike is cone-shaped male flowers which disintegrate leaving the stem tip bare above the female part.

Fruits: Tiny, ellipsoid nutlets with numerous long, thin hairs at the base.

Ecology: Marsh or semi-aquatic plant, found in marshes, ponds, lakeshores and wet ditches, slow or quiet water and low to middle elevations.

Propagation: Not available.

General: Annual, branched stems to 10-60 cm tall. Gives off an unpleasant odour.

Leaves: Egg-shaped to pentagonal. Pinnately deeply divided into 3-5 main segments that are also divided. Sparsely hairy on both sides, light green and occasionally reddish.

Flowers: Pink to reddish-purple, several 7-15 mm long petals around center with glandular-hairy sepals. Usually 2 flowers per long stalk.

Fruits: 5-parted capsules, styles fuse to form a central, pointed column 13-20 mm long.

Ecology: Introduced Eurasian weed, found in clearings, meadows, grassy openings, open forests. Generally at low elevations.

Propagation: Not available.

General: Jointed stems which can be either sterile or fertile. Sterile stems are up to 70 cm tall, green, branched, hollow, with 10-12 ridges. Sheaths are green with 10-12 brownish or blackish teeth. Fertile stems are up to 30 cm tall, brownish to whitish, unbranched and usually thick and succulent.

Cones: Long-stalked, 2-3.5 cm long and blunt-tipped.

Ecology: Variety or habitats including moist to wet forests, meadows, swamps, fens and alpine seepage areas, often weedy. Elevation from lowland to alpine.

Propagation: Not available.

References:
Birdseye, C., and Birdseye, E.G.  1972.  Growing Woodland Plants.  New York: Dover Publications Inc.

Lyons, C.P.  1976.  Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to know in British Columbia.  Toronto: JM Dent and Sons Ltd.

Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A.  1994.  Plants of Coastal British Columbia including Washington, Oregon and Alaska.  Vancouver: Lone Pine Publishing.

Rose, R., Chaculski, C.E.O., and Hasse, D.L.  1998.  Propagation of Pacific Northwestern Native Plants.  Corvallis: Oregon State University Press.
 

© 2009 Veins of Life Watershed Society / All Rights Reserved / if you wish to use any info for commercial or non commercial usage you must obtain permissions from The Veins of Life Watershed Society