Bulrush

Ball ledges ( Scirpoides holoschoenus )

The ball ledges or ball bulrush ( Scirpoides holoschoenus (L.) Soják, syn. Holoschoenus Scirpus L., holoschoenus Link vulgaris ) is a species of the genus of the ball rushes ( Scirpoides ) and belongs to the family of sour grass plants. It was formerly placed in the genus larger ledges.

Description

The ball mantels is a perennial plant with a creeping rhizome, which drives many stems. These are round, striped, smooth and 30-100 ( 250) cm high and 1-4 mm thick, gray-green or grass green.

The species has one or two bracts below the inflorescence, of which the lowest is upright and the stem continues. The inflorescence is therefore apparently laterally and consists of one to ten partly sitting, partly pedunculated globular head. At least one head is sitting. The spikelets are ovate and 2-4 mm long. The husks are 1.5-3 mm long, ciliate butt trimmed to emarginate with a spiked tip and the margin. Their color is red to brownish red, with green center stripe and white skin edge. Each flower has three stamens and three scars. The fruit is triangular and 0.6-1.3 mm long.

The chromosome number is 2n = 164

The ball ledges blooms from June to July.

Occurrence

The ball ledges thrives in wet-dry sand or clay soil on the banks of rivers and lakes, wet meadows or bogs. In southern Europe it is Kennart of Holoschoenetum. The type is rising in South Tyrol to 1200 m. In Germany the ball ledges is rare; it is introduced, but partly also naturalized in West Germany, in Saxony -Anhalt and Brandenburg. Their range extends from the Atlantic Europe and North Africa with a focus on Southern Europe to southern Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East to India and Central Asia.