Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


Home	About NPWRC	Our Science	Staff	Employment	Contacts	Common Questions	About the Site

Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Colorado Rush
Juncus confuses Coville

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Rush (Juncaceae)
Flowering: June-August
Field Marks: The presence of 2 small bracts at the base of each flower, the shallowly notched capsule, and the nearly thread-like leaves readily distinguish this species.
Habitat: Wet meadows, along streams, in moist woods.
Habit: Perennial herb with fibrous roots.
Stems: Upright, slender, unbranched, up to 1 1/2 feet tall, smooth.
Leaves: Mostly near the base of the plant, thread-like to narrowly linear, flat or rolled up into a hollow tube, up to 1/24 inch wide, smooth.
Flowers: Several in small, crowded clusters up to 1 inch long, subtended by 1-3 leafy bracts up to 4 inches long, each flower subtended by a pair of small bracts.
Sepals: 3, free from each other, brown with a green mid-vein, up to 1/4 inch long.
Petals: 3, free from each other, brown with a green mid-vien, up to 1/4 inch long.
Stamens: 6.
Pistils: Ovary superior, smooth.
Fruits: Capsules oblongoid, more or less triangular up to 1/6 inch long, a little shorter than the sepals and petals, shallowly notched at the tip.
Notes: The seeds are eaten by waterfowl.

Previous Species -- Chestnut Rush (Juncus castaneus)
Return to Species List -- Group 4
Next Species -- Drummond's Rush (Juncus drummondii)

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/florawe/species/4/juncconf.htm
Page Contact Information: Webmaster
Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:25:03 EST
Sioux Falls, SD [sdww54]