Butomus umbellatus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Alismatales

Familia: Butomaceae
Genus: Butomus
Species: Butomus umbellatus
Name

Butomus umbellatus L., Sp. Pl.: 372. 1753.
Synonyms

Heterotypic

Butomus caesalpini Neck., Delic. Gallo-Belg. 1: 189. 1768.
Butomus floridus Gaertn., Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 74. 1788.
Butomus scutariensis Rohlena, Vestn. Král. Ceské Spolecn. Nauk, Tr. Mat.-Prír. 35: 6. 1931 publ. 1932, pro syn.
Butomus umbellatus f. albiflorus F.Fromm, Allg. Bot. Z. Syst. 11: 161. 1905.
Butomus umbellatus f. natans V.V.Petrovsky, Fl. Yakutii.
Butomus umbellatus f. submersus Glück, Süsswasserflora (A.Pascher) 15: 107. 1936.
Butomus umbellatus f. terrestris Glück, Süsswasserflora (A.Pascher) 15: 107. 1936.
Butomus umbellatus var. minor Ledeb., Fl. Ross. 4: 44. 1852.
Butomus umbellatus var. parviflorus Buchenau, Gött. Gel. Anz. 1869: 237. 1869.
Butomus umbellatus var. scutariensis Rohlena, Vestn. Král. Ceské Spolecn. Nauk, Tr. Mat.-Prír. 35: 6. 1931 publ. 1932.
Butomus umbellatus var. vallisneriifolia Sagorski, Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. (Ascherson & Graebner) 1: 396. 1897.
Butomus vulgaris Gueldenst., Reis. Russland 2: 22. 1791.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Palearctic
Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Altay; Amur; Austria; Baltic States; Belarus; Belgium; Bulgaria; Buryatiya; Central European Russia; China North-central; China South-central; China Southeast; Chita; Czechoslovakia; Denmark; East European Russia; Finland; France; Germany; Great Britain; Greece; Hungary; Inner Mongolia; Iran; Iraq; Ireland; Irkutsk; Italy; Kazakhstan; Khabarovsk; Kirgizstan; Krasnoyarsk; Krym; Lebanon-Syria; Manchuria; Mongolia; Morocco; Netherlands; North Caucasus; North European Russia; Northwest European Russia; Norway; Pakistan; Palestine; Poland; Portugal; Primorye; Romania; Sardegna; South European Russia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Tadzhikistan; Transcaucasus; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkey-in-Europe; Turkmenistan; Tuva; Ukraine; Uzbekistan; West Himalaya; West Siberia; Xinjiang; Yakutskiya; Yugoslavia

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 372. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Butomus umbellatus in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul. 13. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2019. Butomus umbellatus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul. 13. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Butomus umbellatus. Published online. Accessed: Jul 13 2019.
The Plant List 2013. Butomus umbellatus in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul 13.
Tropicos.org 2019. Butomus umbellatus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul 13.

Vernacular names
العربية: عناز خيمي
azərbaycanca: Çətirli suoxu
беларуская: Сусак парасоністы
български: Сенников водолюб
čeština: Šmel okoličnatý
Cymraeg: Brwynen flodeuog
dansk: Brudelys
Deutsch: Schwanenblume
English: Flowering-rush
eesti: Luigelill
فارسی: هزارنی
suomi: Sarjarimpi
français: Butome à ombelle
Frysk: Swannepopel
עברית: בוציץ סוככני
hrvatski: Štitasti vodoljub
hornjoserbsce: Wokołkaty syćowc
magyar: Virágkákafélék
հայերեն: Կարապածաղիկ հովանոցավոր
italiano: Giunco fiorito
日本語: ハナイ科
한국어: 구주꽃골
lietuvių: Skėtinis bėžis
Nedersaksies: Zwaonebloeme
Nederlands: Zwanenbloem
norsk: Brudelys
polski: Łączeń baldaszkowy
română: Crin de baltă
русский: Сусак зонтичный
slovenčina: Okrasa okolíkatá
slovenščina: Kobulasta vodoljuba
српски / srpski: Водољуб
svenska: Blomvass
українська: Сусак звичайний
Tiếng Việt: Cỏ lận

Butomus umbellatus is the Old World Palearctic and Asian plant species in the family Butomaceae. Common names include flowering rush[3] or grass rush.

Description

The plant is a rhizomatous, hairless, perennial aquatic plant. Its name is derived from Greek bous, meaning "cow", "ox" etc. and tome, a cut (the verb 'temnein' meaning "to cut"), which refers to the plant's swordlike leaves.[4]

Other than suggested by its English common name, it is not a true rush. It is native to Old World continents and grows on the margins of still and slowly moving water down to a depth of about 3 m. It has pink flowers. Introduced into North America as an ornamental plant it has now become a serious invasive weed[5] in the Great Lakes area and in parts of the Pacific Northwest.[6] In Israel, one of its native countries, it is an endangered species due to the dwindling of its habitat. It can also be found in Great Britain locally, for example at the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels[4][7]

The plant has linear, pointed leaves up to 1 metre long, or more. The leaves are triangular in cross-section and arise in two rows along the rhizome/base. They are untoothed, parallel veined and twisted.[4][8]

The inflorescence is umbel-like consisting of a single terminal flower surrounded by three cymes. The flowers are regular and bisexual, 2 to 3 cm across. There are three petal-like sepals which are pink with darker veins. They persist in the fruit. The three petals are like the sepals but somewhat larger. 6 - 9 stamens. Carpels superior, 6 - 9 and slightly united at the base. When ripe they are obovoid and crowned with a persistent style. Ovules are numerous and found scattered over the inner surface of the carpel wall, except on the midrib and edges. Fruit is a follicle. The seeds have no endosperm, and a straight embryo. It flowers from July until August.[4]
Uses

Butomus umbellatus is cultivated as an ornamental waterside plant.[9]

In parts of Russia the rhizomes are used as food.
References

The Plant List, Butomus umbellatus L.
1885 illustration from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany
"Butomus umbellatus". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
"Butomus umbellatus in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
"Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus) Ecological Risk Screening Summary" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map Image
Natural World Magazine, Spring 2009, The Wildlife Trust, published by Think publishing
Rose, Francis (2006). The Wild Flower Key. Frederick Warne & Co. pp. 480–481. ISBN 978-0-7232-5175-0.
"RHS Plant Selector - Butomus umbellatus". Retrieved 23 February 2020.