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In common wood-rush (Luzula multiflora), culms terminate in umbels of 3-12 distinct flower clusters with green, hairless floral stalks ("rays") 1/2-3" long. The rays diverge by less than 60° from each other. (Which distinguishes this species from another Illinois species, hedgehog wood-rush (L. echinata), in which the rays diverge at greater angles.) A single flower cluster is roughly cylindrical, about 1/4" across and 1/4-1/2" long containing 6-16 flowers. Individual flowers are about 1/4" across and consist of six brownish, scaly, lance-shaped tepals 2.5-4 mm long with white, membranous margins; six stamens with bulky, pale-yellow anthers; and a single pistil with three feathery stigmas. The flowers are wind pollinated. Seed capsules are egg-shaped with a short beak and three longitudinal lobes; each lobe contains a single seed. A pair of leaf-like bracts up to 2" long is present at the base of the inflorescence. Blooms are present for only a week or 10 days in April. Common wood-rush is usually found in shaded upland areas but is present in Jackson Park in the meadow north of West Lagoon.

Luzula

Luzula multiflora

common wood-rush [Blooms: Apr]