Common Bog-rush

Scientific Name:

Schoenus apogon

Status:

Australian and New Zealand native.

Plant Description:

A small annual sedge from 3-25 cm tall with terete (circular in cross-section) stems, 0.5-1.2 mm wide. Leaf blades to 15 cm long, leaf sheaths straw coloured to dark red-brown and shining. Flower-head consists of 1-4 clusters of spikelets at the junctions of leafy bracts and one terminal, loosely hemispherical cluster, containing 6-16 spikelets. The lowest flower bract can be up to 17 cm long.

Spikelets are 2.5-7.5 mm long and consist of 4-6 glumes and 1-3 flowers. The glumes are distinctively red-brown to black and shining. Fruit is a triangular shaped nut, 1.0-1.2 mm long and subtended by 5-6 bristles.

Habitat:

Common across the whole State, except for the Mallee. Mostly found in seasonally wet habitats and indicative of fresh-water.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Central and Northern, Wimmera, Western, Gippsland	S0	W2, W3

Comments:

There are more than 20 Bog-rush species in Victoria. Many occupy seasonally wet places in the environment, including sandy heaths. Shiny Bog-rush (Schoenus nitens) appears to be the only species that tolerates some salinity.

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