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Scheuchzeria palustris

L.

Marsh Scheuchzeria

G5Secure Found in 31 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.157508
Element CodePMSCH02010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderNajadales
FamilyScheuchzeriaceae
GenusScheuchzeria
Other Common Names
Pod Grass (EN) Rannoch-rush (EN) rannoch-rush (EN) Scheuchzérie des marais (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.
Taxonomic Comments
FNA (vol. 22, 2000) lumps subspecific taxa.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-01-13
Change Date1984-09-06
Edition Date2025-01-13
Edition AuthorsN. Ventrella (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Scheuchzeria palustris is a circumboreal aquatic perennial monocot occurring in a variety of wetland habitats, including, bogs, marshes, fens, swamps, and along lakes margins of North America and Eurasia. There are over 5,000 occurrences estimated rangewide, which are threatened by rights-of-way maintenance, lack of wildfire leading to succession, alteration of hydrology, invasive species, logging, and other threats in some places. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent, high number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, Scheuchzeria palustris is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Scheuchzeria palustris is a circumboreal species occurring in North America and Eurasia (FNA 2000, POWO 2025). In North America, it occurs from Alaska and the Northwest Territories, east to Newfoundland and Labrador, south to New Jersey, and west to Oregon and California in the United States and Canada (FNA 2000). There are disjunct populations in Virginia, and West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, and possibly New Mexico (Kartesz 1996). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, there are estimated to be over 5,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Scheuchzeria palustris is threatened by rights-of-way maintenance, lack of wildfire leading to succession, alteration of hydrology, invasive species, logging, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species (NatureServe 2025).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

Pod Grass is a grass-like perennial herb with stems that are 2-4 dm high and arising singly from creeping rhizomes. Alternate, strap-like leaves that are 1-4 dm long, sheath the stem and become smaller upward. The lower stems are usually covered with old membranous sheathing bases. 3-12 stalked flowers are borne on the upper stem in the axils of reduced leaf sheaths. Each flower has 6 undifferentiated, greenish white, separate petals and sepals that are ca. 3 mm long, 6 stamens, and 3 ovaries that are united at the base. The (usually) 3 capsules are 5-8 mm long and have 2 seeds.

Diagnostic Characteristics

The sheathing, grass-like leaves and relatively large, 3-parted fruits are diagnostic. Pores at leaf tips, reduced upper leaves, persistent remains of old leaves.

Habitat

Scheuchzeria palustris occurs in a variety of wetland habitats, including bogs, fens, marshes, meadows, ponds, swamps, and along lake margins, up to 2073 meters in elevation (Les 2020). It prefers open, sunny locations, and does not compete well in areas shaded by shrubby vegetation. This species prefers organic, acidic substrates like humus, peat, and muck, and it is found in shallow, permanent waters with a pH range of 3.8–7.6.

Ecology

Almost totally restricted to bogs.

Reproduction

Seeds can be dispersed locally by gravity or water, and possibly over longer distances through birds (Les 2020). Seedling establishment is difficult, and reestablishment is rare even after a decade.
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDBog/fen
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MaineSNRYes
VermontS2Yes
OhioS1Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
New MexicoSNRYes
IdahoS3Yes
CaliforniaS1Yes
MichiganSNRYes
AlaskaS3Yes
MontanaS3Yes
West VirginiaSHYes
New YorkS3Yes
Rhode IslandS1Yes
IndianaS1Yes
North DakotaS1Yes
IllinoisSXYes
WisconsinSNRYes
OregonS2Yes
WyomingS1Yes
PennsylvaniaS1Yes
VirginiaSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
MassachusettsS1Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
IowaSXYes
ConnecticutS1Yes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS5Yes
Yukon TerritoryS3Yes
OntarioS5Yes
ManitobaS3Yes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
Island of NewfoundlandS3Yes
AlbertaS4Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
NunavutS2Yes
QuebecS5Yes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
SaskatchewanS4Yes
LabradorS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
5 - Biological resource useUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.3.5 - Motivation unknown/unrecordedUnknownUnknownUnknown
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.1 - Fire & fire suppressionUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.1.2 - Suppression in fire frequency/intensityUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.2 - Dams & water management/useUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1.1 - Unspecified speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (31)
Alaska (11)
AreaForestAcres
Boston BarChugach National Forest53,617
CastleTongass National Forest49,289
CrystalTongass National Forest18,972
East MitkofTongass National Forest8,795
Five MileTongass National Forest19,459
Green RocksTongass National Forest11,093
LindenbergTongass National Forest25,855
North RevillaTongass National Forest215,430
RhineTongass National Forest23,010
South KupreanofTongass National Forest216,816
South RevillaTongass National Forest52,105
Minnesota (3)
AreaForestAcres
Baldpate LakeSuperior National Forest486
Hegman LakesSuperior National Forest675
Phantom LakeSuperior National Forest6,521
Montana (7)
AreaForestAcres
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - SwanLolo National Forest118,485
Cabinet Face East #671Kootenai National Forest50,326
Roderick #684Kootenai National Forest29,677
SapphireBitterroot National Forest43,303
SapphiresBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest66,619
Silver KingBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest64,289
Stony MountainBitterroot National Forest44,057
Oregon (6)
AreaForestAcres
CornpatchWillamette National Forest7,346
Maiden PeakWillamette National Forest9,627
Maiden PeakDeschutes National Forest26,432
Waldo - FujiWillamette National Forest15,273
Waldo - LakeWillamette National Forest2,993
Waldo - Salmon CreekWillamette National Forest3,195
Washington (2)
AreaForestAcres
Grassy TopIdaho Panhandle National Forests13,485
Rock CreekWenatchee National Forest32,239
Wisconsin (1)
AreaForestAcres
09012 - Round Lake Study AreaChequamegon-Nicolet National Forest3,707
Wyoming (1)
AreaForestAcres
Teton Corridor TrailheadsBridger-Teton National Forest286
References (16)
  1. Britton, N.L. 1909. North American Flora Part 1: pp. 41-42. Scheuchcariaceae. New York Botanical Gardens, New York, NY.
  2. Caicco, S. L. 1987. Field investigations of selected sensitive plant species on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Idaho Natural Heritage Program, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, Idaho. 44 pp.
  3. Fernald, M.L. 1950 Gray's Manual of Botany, 8th ed. American Book Company, New York. 1632 pp.
  4. 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.
  5. Gleason, H.A. 1952. The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 3 volumes. Hafner Press, New York. 1732 pp.
  6. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  7. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  8. 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.
  9. Kartesz, J.T. 1996. Species distribution data at state and province level for vascular plant taxa of the United States, Canada, and Greenland (accepted records), from unpublished data files at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, December, 1996.
  10. Les, D. 2020. Aquatic Monocotyledons of North America: Ecology, Life History, and Systematics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 568 pp.
  11. Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. First edition printed by Adlard & Son, Bartholomew Press, Dorking, Great Britain. 2 vol.
  12. McCance, R.M., Jr., and J.F. Burns, eds. 1984. Ohio endangered and threatened vascular plants: Abstracts of state-listed taxa. Division Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Dept. Natural Resources, Columbus. 635 pp.
  13. Moseley, R. K. 1991. Floristic inventory of wetlands in Fremont and Teton Counties, Idaho. Unpublished report. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, Idaho. 60 pp. plus appendices.
  14. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  15. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  16. Voss, E.G. 1972. Michigan flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part I. Gymnosperms and monocots. Cranbrook Institute of Science and Univ. Michigan Herbarium. Ann Arbor. 488 pp.