Southern Umbrella-sedge (Fuirena scirpoidea)

Southern Umbrella-Sedge (Fuirena scirpoidea) is now blooming. This species is often found on marsh and pond edges throughout Florida.
Flowering. Photo © Shirley Denton.
F. scirpoidea was described in 1803 by botanist Andre Michaux1. It is vouchered for most counties in Florida and occurs throughout the southeast United States.

Flowering in East Osceola County March 2019. Photo © Loret Thatcher

The genus Fuirena was first described in 1773 by Christen Friis Rottbøll, a Danish botanist2. Fuirena is within the tribe Fuireneae which is in the Cyperoideae subfamily and finally within the Cyperaceae family. This means it's more closely related to the Saltmarsh Bulrush (Bolboschoenus robustus) than any other sedge in Florida3.
flowering in Pine Lily Preserve, Orange County, June 2015. Photo CC-BY-2.0 Mary Keim
flowering with Wingless Meadow Katydid (Odontoxiphidium apterum) Hal Scott Preserve and Regional Preserve, Orange Co., FL, April 2014. Photo CC-BY-2.0 Mary Keim

The FWC and UF/IFAS CAIP have a how-to video for identification. It does not appear to available in cultivation for use in a rain garden, bog, or wetlands restoration4.

References

[1] Michaux, A.M. 1803. Flora boreali-Americana. p.38. link
[2] Rottbøll, C.F. 1773. Descriptionum et Iconum Rariores. p.70. link
[3] Simpson, et al. 2007. Phylogeny of Cyperaceae Based on DNA Sequence Data - a New rbcL Analysis. Alisco 23, p. 72-83. link
[4] Plant Finder Database. 2019. Rush Fuirena (Fuirena scirpoidea). Florida Association of Native Nurseries. link

Further reading

Boughton, Betsy. 2008. Florida ranchlands - Areas of conservation value and opportunities for restoration. The Palmetto, Florida Native Plant Society. 25:4, p.12 link
Setters, Loret. 2019. SOUTHERN UMBRELLASEDGE (Fuirena scirpoidea). What Florida Native Plant is Blooming Today Blog. link
Bradford, J. and Rogers, G. Fuirena scirpoidea Michaux. Grasses and Sedges and Rushes of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida. link
Southern Umbrellasedge (Fuirena scirpoidea). iNaturalist link
Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2019. Atlas of Florida Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa. link
Matson, Chris. 2009. Graminoids (Families Poaceae, Juncaceae and Cyperaceae). The Univeristy of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. link

by Valerie Anderson, staff | email

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday's Wildflower:Spanish Needle

Image
Spanish Needle, Bidens Alba Submitted by Donna Bollenbach, Suncoast Chapter Biden's alba , all photos by Donna Bollenbach Nothing attracts more butterflies and bees than a simple white flower called Bidens alba . Also called Romerillo, Beggar’s Tick, Spanish Needle or Monkey’s Lice, this Florida native wildflower is the third most reliable source of nectar for pollinators in our state. There would be many starving bees and butterflies if not for the Bidens family of flowers. More so, Bidens alba and its sister plant, Bidens pilosa , are both edible and have medicinal value. Yet, many gardeners have a love/hate relationship the plant, and some even consider it a pesky weed. Why?
Read more

Australian Pine: One of Florida's Least Wanted

Image
 Austrailian Pine fruits Australian pines seem to be everywhere in the coastal regions in the bottom half of Florida. Their name is deceiving because, while they are native to Australia, they aren't pines or even conifers. They are flowering trees with separate male and female flowers, and what look like needles are really green twiglets with close-set circles of tiny leaves that drop at the first sign of a drought. In the photo to the right, the light-colored lines are where leaves where once attached. Most of the photosynthesis takes place in the twiglets. There are three species of Australian pine ( Casuarina spp ) that have been imported into Florida for various purposes. They were widely planted to soak up the "swamps" in Florida, stabilize canals, and hold beaches. Unfortunately for Florida's ecosystems, the "pines" accomplished all this and more--like seeding prolifically, growing five feet or more per year, producing dense shade, and emitting
Read more

Tropical Milkweed is Harmful to Monarchs & Florida Ecosystems

Image
By Lilly Anderson-Messec The red and yellow blooms of tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica , are ubiquitous in Florida butterfly gardens. This non-native milkweed has exploded in popularity as demand for milkweed grows to support declining monarch butterfly populations. This tropical species is native to Mexico and very easy to propagate, so growers are able to quickly produce plant material to meet the milkweed demand. It’s also very showy, blooming prolifically all season and regrowing quickly after being decimated by hungry caterpillars.  Unfortunately, tropical milkweed has been an increasingly invasive species in Central and South Florida for many years, and has begun spreading in North Florida as well. It’s fast growth and prolific re-seeding have resulted in large monocultures of tropical milkweed in natural areas. This unchecked growth replaces native plants and disrupts the native ecosystems that both wildlife and humans rely on. The invasive quality of this plant is is j
Read more