Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Hairy Woodrush

Luzula acuminata

Raf.

Hairy Woodrush

G5Secure Found in 18 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.138684
Element CodePMJUN02010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderJuncales
FamilyJuncaceae
GenusLuzula
Other Common Names
hairy woodrush (EN) Hairy Wood Rush (EN) Luzule acuminée (FR)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-08-13
Change Date1986-04-08
Edition Date2024-08-13
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Luzula acuminata is a wide-ranging perennial graminoid in woodlands and forests of eastern North America from Newfoundland west to Saskatchewan, Canada south to Florida west to Louisiana and South Dakota in the United States with two varieties. Threats include development, rights-of-way maintenance, logging, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Luzula acuminata occurs in eastern North America from Newfoundland west to Saskatchewan, Canada south to Florida west to Louisiana and South Dakota in the United States (FNA 2000). Range extent was estimated to be over 6.1 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024). See individual entries for distribution details about the two varieties.
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 1,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is potentially threatened by development, rights-of-way maintenance, logging, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Luzula acuminata occurs in open woods, moist forests, meadows, hillsides, clearings, shaded stream banks to coastal plains (FNA 2000, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodForest - ConiferForest - MixedForest EdgeGrassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
New BrunswickS5Yes
OntarioS5Yes
ManitobaS4Yes
SaskatchewanS3Yes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
Island of NewfoundlandS1Yes
QuebecSNRYes
Prince Edward IslandS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
LouisianaSNRYes
New YorkSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
IndianaS1Yes
IllinoisS2Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
DelawareS1Yes
MichiganSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
MaineSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
South DakotaS2Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
VermontS5Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
North CarolinaS4Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
OhioSNRYes
ArkansasS2Yes
IowaS3Yes
MississippiS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (18)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Brush HeapOuachita National Forest4,205
Georgia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Joe GapChattahoochee National Forest5,321
Minnesota (2)
AreaForestAcres
Phantom LakeSuperior National Forest6,521
Wood LakeSuperior National Forest596
North Carolina (6)
AreaForestAcres
Boteler PeakNantahala National Forest4,205
Catfish Lake NorthCroatan National Forest11,299
Cheoah BaldNantahala National Forest7,795
Craggy MountainPisgah National Forest2,657
Graveyard Ridge (addition)Pisgah National Forest1,958
Sam Knob (addition)Pisgah National Forest2,576
Pennsylvania (1)
AreaForestAcres
Tracy RidgeAllegheny National Forest9,034
South Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Ellicott Rock 2Sumter National Forest517
Tennessee (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainCherokee National Forest11,743
Beaver Dam CreekCherokee National Forest5,070
Rogers RidgeCherokee National Forest4,738
Vermont (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bread LoafGreen Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,768
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Cheat MountainMonongahela National Forest8,191
Wisconsin (1)
AreaForestAcres
09182 - Pentoga RoadChequamegon-Nicolet National Forest5,008
References (7)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2000. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 22. Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in part), and Zingiberidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 352 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  6. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  7. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.