Bulrush (redirected from Scirpus lacustris)

bulrush: see sedge.

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bulrush

Any of the annual or perennial grasslike plants constituting the genus Scirpus, especially S. lacustris, in the sedge family, that bear solitary or much-clustered spikelets. Bulrushes grow in wet locations, including ponds, marshes, and lakes. Their stems are often used to weave strong mats, baskets, and chair seats. Bulrushes may act as a filter, absorbing poisonous metals and toxic microorganisms, thus helping to reduce water pollution. In Britain, the term bulrush refers to either of two cattails (Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia).

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bulrush

1. a grasslike cyperaceous marsh plant, Scirpus lacustris, used for making mats, chair seats, etc.

2. a popular name for reed mace (sense 1): the name derived from Alma-Tadema's painting of the finding of the infant Moses in the "bulrushes" — actually reed mace

3. a biblical word for papyrus (the plant)

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Bulrush 

(Scirpus), a genus of perennial, rarely annual, plants of the family Cyperaceae. The flowers are bisexual, in spikelets, gathered into umbrelled paniculate or capitate inflorescences. There are usually six perianth bristles; however, sometimes they are absent. There are two or three stigmas. More than 250 species are found throughout the world. In the USSR there are approximately 20 species, growing in damp places and in water. The great bulrush (Scirpus lacustris), which often makes up vast thickets, forms peat. Its stalks, measuring up to 2.5 m in height, are used to weave various articles. They are also used as material for packing, heat insulation, and construction. The stalks are eaten by muskrats and water rats. The species S. sylvaticus is fed as hay to cattle; its young shoots are a favorite food of deer. The species S. gracilis (native to India) and S. prolifer (native to Africa and Australia) are cultivated as ornamentals. The genera Holoschoenus and Dichostylis, which are distributed in the moderately warm regions of Eurasia, are sometimes considered as the genus Scirpus. Plants of the genus Phragmites of the family Gramineae are often incorrectly called bulrush.

T. V. EGOROVA