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River Club-Rush
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| River Club-Rush photos | Family: Sedge (Cyperaceae) |
| Scientific Name: | Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (syn. S. validus) |  Clump of large River Club-rush plants on the fringe of saline and acid water Photo: A J Brown | |||||
Other Comon Names: | Lake Club-rush | ||||||
Status: | Native to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific islands. | ||||||
Plant Description: | A tall perennial sedge with a rhizomatous root system. Stems from 100-200 cm high and 3-10 mm diameter, without nodes (swollen bumps) and smooth and hairless. Leaves absent or reduced to less than 10 cm long. Flower-heads umbrella-like with branches 1-8 cm long and 1-4 spikelets per branch. Flower bract (leaf-like extension of the stem) much shorter than the flower-head. Fruit a ovoid, smooth, shiny, grey-brown to dark brown, nut, 2-2.5 mm long and 1.2-1.5 mm diameter. | ||||||
Habitat: | Widespread and common in lowland Victoria. Fringes fresh or brackish lakes, swamps and rivers.
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Comments: | Similar to general appearance to other large rush-like plants, such as Sharp Club-rush (Schoenoplectus pungens), Caldwell’s Club-rush (Bolboschoenus caldwellii) and Giant Rush (Juncus ingens) but differ in flower-heads and fruit. |
 Old flower-heads of River Club-rush Photo: A J Brown |  Stems and bases of River Club-rush Photo: A J Brown |
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