Northeast Wetland Flora
Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Juncus balticus Willd.
- Family: Rush (Juncaceae)
- Flowering: May-September
- Field Marks: The distinguishing features of this rush are the lateral inflorescence, the absence of leaves, and the absence of longitudinal furrows on the stems.
- Habitat: Brackish or freshwater meadows and shores.
- Habit: Perennial herb from extensive forking rhizomes.
- Stems: Upright, smooth, slender, terete, not furrowed, up to 3 feet tall.
- Leaves: Reduced to sheaths at the base of the stems, the sheaths up to 5 inches long.
- Flowers: Many borne in clusters from the side of the stem, the stem appearing to continue beyond the inflorescence.
- Sepals: 3, chestnut-brown, lanceolate, free from each other, up to 1/4 inch long.
- Petals: 3, chestnut-brown, lanceolate, free from each other, up to 1/4 inch long.
- Stamens: 6.
- Pistils: Ovary superior, smooth.
- Fruits: Capsules ovoid to lanceoloid, triangular, short-pointed at the tip, about as long as or slightly longer than the sepals and petals.
- Notes: The seeds are eaten by waterfowl. Some recent authors refer to this species as J. arcticus.
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Return to Species List -- Group 4
Next Species -- Small-head Rush (Juncus brachycephalus)
