2 genera
63 species
20 subspecies and varieties
Show only taxa with photos
Scientific name
Common name
– knotty leaf rush, sharp-fruited rush, tapered rush
Distribution: Mostly west of the Cascades, British Columbia south to California, east to southwest Idaho and Arizona.
Habitat: Ditches, lake margins, meadows and other wet places.
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late May - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– alpine rush, northern rush
Distribution: In scattered location on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; scattered throughout North America from Alaska to Washington, east across Canada and central U.S. to northeastern North America.
Habitat: Wet meadows, pond and lake shores.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– giant path rush
Origin: Introduced from eastern North America
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
joint-leaved rush, jointed rush
Origin: Native
– jointed rush, jointleaf rush
–
Baltic rush
Distribution: Widely distributed throughout much of Washington; widely distributed throughout much of western and central North America, less widely distributed in eastern North America.
Habitat: Wet places, often where saline or alkaline.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Baltic rush, valley rush
– Bolander's rush
Distribution: West of the Cascades, southern British Columbia south to coastal California.
Habitat: Marshes and river bottoms from tidelands to the lower mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late May - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– short-fruit rush
Origin: Introduced; native to southeastern and midwestern United States
– narrow-panicled rush
Origin: Native
– Brewer's rush, salt rush
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Annual
– toad rush
– clustered toad rush
– western toad rush
– bulbous rush, spreading rush
Distribution: Introduced at several locations in wsestern Washington; British Columbia south to Oregon, east across northern Canada to the Atlantic Coast; Europe.
Habitat: Sandy or peaty shores of streams and pools.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Canadian rush
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; also in Oregon, otherwise widespread east of the Mississippi River.
Habitat: Brackish swamps, acid bogs, tidal flats and beaches.
Origin: Introduced from eastern North America
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– round-fruit rush
Origin: Introduced
– Colorado rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– compact rush
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to Oregon, also in eastern North America.
Habitat: Ditches, wet pastures, shores, and railroad right of ways.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Coville's rush
Origin: Native
– diffuse rush, slimpod rush
Origin: Introduced from South America
– Drummond's rush, threeflower rush
Distribution: Alaska south to California, east to the Rockies, Alberta to New Mexico.
Habitat: Alpine to subalpine meadows, streambanks, talus slopes and ridges.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Dudley's rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
Distribution: Alaska to Baja California, east to Newfoundland and most of central and eastern United States.
Habitat: Moist areas, from coastal tideflats to mountain meadows and ridges.
Origin: Both native and introduced
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– soft rush
– common rush, Pacific rush
– eastern soft rush
– dagger rush, daggerleaf rush
Distribution: Widely distributed throughout the mountainous areas of Washington; Alaska south to California, east to the Great Plains; introduced in eastern North America.
Habitat: Shores of ponds and streams, wet meadows, fens, seeps, and ditches from low to high elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
sickle-leaved rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Alaskan sickle leaved rush
– thread rush
Distribution: Alaska to northern Oregon, east in Canada to Newfoundland and south to Pennsylvania and Montana.
Habitat: Lake shores and coastal bogs to montane marshes and meadows; in Washington, from near sea level to about 5000 feet elevation.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
black rush, mud rush
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in counties along the Puget Sound and outer coast; British Columbia south to Oregon, east sporadically across the U.S. to the northern Atlantic coast of the U.S. and Canada; circumboreal.
Habitat: Coastal salt marshes.
Origin: Both native and introduced - occurring in eastern North America, Eurasia.
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– black grass, Gerard's rush, mud rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Annual
– dwarf rush, Hermann's dwarf rush
– bog rush, coastal rush
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Howell's rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - August
–
blue rush
Origin: Introduced
– inland rush
Distribution: Alberta south to Colorado, east to Quebec and Tennesee; occasional in eastern Washington.
Habitat: Dry, upland sites in prairies, exposed sites in disturbed areas, ditches in sandy or clayey soil
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Kellogg's dwarf rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: April - July
Growth Duration: Annual
– shiny rush
Origin: Native
– long-styled rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Mertens' rush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains.
Habitat: Wet places along streams and lakes, mid- to high elevations in the mountains
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Nevada rush
Distribution: Southern British Columbia to California, east to the Rockies, Montana to New Mexico.
Habitat: Wet plasces, margins of streams and lakes, from near sea level to lower elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– dune rush
– Sierra rush
– knotted rish, tuberous rush
Distribution: East of the Cascades, British Columbia to California, east to Nova Scotia and Maine.
Habitat: Ditches, ponds and wet places.
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– western rush
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest and east in the Columbia River Gorge to Klickitat County in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California and Mexico.
Habitat: Wet prairies, shores, springs, vernal pools, and ditches.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– straight-leaved rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– pointed rush
Distribution: Southwest British Columbia to Caslifornia; in Washington, in the lowlands west of the Cascades.
Habitat: Wet meadows and lake shores.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Parry's rush
Distribution: British Columbia to California, east to Montana and Colorado; in the Olympics and Cascades of Washington
Habitat: Moist places, moderate to high elevations in the mountains
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– spreading rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– brown-fruited rush
Origin: Introduced from northeastern North America
– common rush
Origin: Introduced
– Regel's rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Rocky Mountain rush
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– hair-leaved rush, spreading rush
Distribution: Alaska south along the coast west of the Cascades to Mendocino County, California.
Habitat: Marshes, ponds, ditches and rivers, often where submerged early in the season.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– path rush, poverty rush, slender rush
Distribution: Alaska south to Mexico, east across southern Canada and most of the United States.
Habitat: Moist places.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Tiehm's dwarf rush
Origin: Native
– Torrey's rush
Distribution: British Columbia south, east of the Cascades, to California, east to Ontario and New York.
Habitat: Wet places, especially around lakes and along streams, form the lowlands to the lower mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– foothill rush
Origin: Native
– inch-high rush
Distribution: Oregon and California, occasional in estern Washington
Habitat: Margins of vernal pools and ponds.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - June
Growth Duration: Annual
– Vasey's rush
Origin: Native
–
curved woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to south-central Washington, east to western Montana.
Habitat: Rocky or gravelly soil, usually on moraines or above timberline.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– curved woodrush
–
field woodrush
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to western Washington; also in New England.
Habitat: Lowland lawns or dry, disturbed ground.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: April-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
– field woodrush
– Cascades woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in south-central Washington; south-central Washington to California, east to western Montana.
Habitat: Wet or peaty montane meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Pacific woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Coastal to montane openings, rocky slopes, forests and shores.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– pale woodrush
– Pacific woodrush
–
southern woodrush
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in lowland western Washington; lowland western Washington and Salem, OR.
Habitat: Low elevation disturbed sites including lawns, parks, and forest edge.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia and northern Africa
Flowers: April-May
Growth Duration: Perennial
– southern woodrush
– Hitchcock's woodrush, smooth woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Crater Lake and the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon, east to Alberta, Montana, and northwestern Wyoming.
Habitat: Montane forests to alpine slopes, ridges and meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– large-anthered woodrush, large-flowered woodrush, prairie woodrush
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Balds, prairies, grasslands, and forest openings at low to moderate elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– common woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to Alberta and western Montana; also in northeastern United States.
Habitat: Fields, meadows, open woods and clearings, at low to middle elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– small-flowered woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and northeastern North America.
Habitat: Moist to fairly dry areas, coastal rain forest to alpine slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Piper's woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Alberta, Montana, and northwestern Wyoming.
Habitat: Moraines, rocky slopes, open forest, and subalpine to alpine meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
spiked woodrush
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, east across northern Canada to northeastern North America; also in Eurasia.
Habitat: Subalpine to alpine slopes, moraines, and stream banks.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– spiked woodrush
– short-stalked wood-rush
Distribution: Ocurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Dunes, ledges, meadows, and open forest.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Perennial