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Flowering-rush

Butomus umbellatus

Also called Grassy Rush, Greater Flowering Rush, Water Gladiolus

Flowering-rush
Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 3.0

Flowering-rush is a hardy, rhizomatous perennial aquatic grass-like plant from Eurasia, the only species in its family, grown for its pink umbels by ponds and water margins. It thrives with its roots in wet soil or shallow water, but can become an invasive weed where introduced.

Family
Butomaceae (Butom family)
Grows as
Grass, Aquatic, Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep roots submerged in shallow water or saturated soil at all times.
Soil
Heavy loam or clay mud, kept waterlogged.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; protect pots from hard freeze in containers.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Temp. Eurasia to India (Punjab. Bihar), NW. Africa
Climate
temperate

About

Butomus umbellatus is a Eurasian plant species in the family Butomaceae. It is the only species in the family. Common names include flowering rush or grass rush. Introduced into North America as an ornamental plant it has now become a serious invasive weed in the Great Lakes area and in parts of the Pacific Northwest. In Israel, one of its native countries, it is an endangered species due to the habitat loss. It can also be found in Great Britain locally, for example at the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels. 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.

Uses

Butomus umbellatus is cultivated as an ornamental waterside plant.

Other Butomus plants

Flowering Rush

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Butomus umbellatus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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