BOTANY WITH BASICS OF HYDROBOTANY (AQUATIC PLANTS OF UKRAINE) - B.Ye. Yakubenko - 2011

X. SEED PLANTS

Flowering Rush Family (Butomaceae)

Perennial marsh or riparian plants. The stem is leafless, and the leaves form a basal rosette. In Ukraine, there is only one genus represented by a single species — the flowering rush.

Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus L.). A perennial herbaceous plant with a rhizome 1.5-2 cm in diameter bearing abundant adventitious roots 12-15 cm long. A rosette of long linear leaves arises from the rhizome, featuring sheaths at their bases and colorless scales in the axils (Fig. 172). The inflorescence is an umbel, and the scape

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Fig. 172. Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus)

is leafless and cylindrical prior to flowering, surrounded by bracts that later reflex downward. The inflorescence contains 10-30 flowers. They are bisexual, up to 25 mm in diameter, pink with a darker stripe on the petals. There are 6-9 stamens, and the apocarpous gynoecium consists of 6 carpels connate at the base. Floral formula: *P₃₊₃ A_6-9G_(6). It blooms from May to August. The fruit is an aggregate follicle, and the seeds are small and endosperm-less.

Widespread throughout Ukraine, growing along riverbanks, lakeshores, in waterlogged meadows, and flooded areas with a water depth of 0-80(200) cm.

Undemanding regarding soil fertility, it grows on both acidic and alkaline substrates, tolerates water bodies subjected to anthropization, and thrives near wastewater discharge sites. During dry periods or significant flooding, it survives in a rhizomatous state. It serves as an indicator of weakly acidic and lightly mineralized soils; an expansion of the distribution area of the flowering rush indicates fluctuations in the groundwater table and anthropogenic processes.

The rhizomes contain up to 60% starch, 13.5% Proteins, fats, nitrogen-free extractives, fiber, and mineral salts, while the leaves contain ascorbic acid.

A food, medicinal, ornamental, honey-producing, and phytoremediation plant. Dried rhizomes can be ground into flour used to bake bread, make porridges, kissels, and coffee substitutes. One kilogram of dry rhizomes yields 250 g of flour.

In folk medicine, the rhizomes are used as a diuretic, expectorant, laxative, and anti-inflammatory remedy. The flowering rush is a valuable nutritious forage plant for cyprinid and percid fish, aquatic rodents such as nutrias and muskrats, as well as decapods, geese, and ducks. Certain aquatic dipterans and orthopterans lay their eggs on its leaves.

The plant is suitable for decorating water bodies and creating indoor aquatic arrangements. The mass proliferation of the flowering rush in the littoral ecophase promotes nutrient accumulation in the soil, silting up of channels, and restriction of water flow. It acts as a pioneer species in the overgrowth of shallow waters.