THREE-SQUARE
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| File Size: 71 KB |
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Schoenoplectus pungens (Vahl ) Palla
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| [=Scirpus americanus Pers.] | | [=Scirpus pungens Vahl] |
| Russell County, Kansas |
| Perennial |
| Height: 1-4 feet |
| Family: Cyperaceae - Sedge Family |
| Flowering Period: June, July, August, September |
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| Also Called: | | American three-square, chairmaker's rush, american bulrush, three-square bulrush, basket grass. | | Culms: | | Erect to strongly arched, sharply triangular, stout, up to 1/4 inch wide. | | Leaves: | | Blades 2-4, linear, flat to slightly rounded near base, up to 8 inches long, less than 1/6 inch wide, occur on lower 1/3 of culm. | | Inflorescences: | | Lateral clusters of 1-8 sessile spikelets; involucral bract slender, up to 6 inches long, appears as continuation of culm, tip pointed. | | Spikelets: | | Egg-shaped or cylindrical, 1/5 to 4/5 inch long, many-flowered, tip nearly pointed; scales egg-shaped, yellowish to reddish-brown, 2-cleft at apex, midrib prominent, extending as short point or awn. | | Fruits: | | Achene, egg-shaped, 2-sided, up to 1/8 inch long, pale brown to olive, short flexible point at tip; subtended by 4-6 bristles that rarely exceed achene. | | Habitat: | | Marshes, pond and lake edges, and other wet areas; usually found in standing water but can withstand periods of drought; fine silty clay loam to sandy loam soils. | | Distribution: | | Throughout Kansas. | | Uses: | | Native Americans used three-square for basket-weaving. The Paiute would make flour from the seeds. The seeds are a food source for wetland birds. Three-square is sometimes planted to control erosion and for wildlife food and cover. |
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| Three-square |  | | 164 KB | | Russell County, Kansas |
| | Three-square leaf baldes |  | | 173 KB | | Russell County, Kansas |
| | Three-square inflorescence and involucral bract |  | | 66 KB | | Russell County, Kansas |
| | Three-square spikelets |  | | 63 KB | | Russell County, Kansas |
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