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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Mexican Rush
Juncus mexicanus Willd. ex J.A. & J.H. Schultes

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Rush (Juncaceae)
Flowering: May-August
Field Marks: The bract that subtends the inflorescence appears to be an extension of the stem so that the flowers appear to be lateral.
Habitat: Moist usually alkaline, areas.
Habit: Perennial herb with stout, creeping rhizomes.
Stems: Upright, unbranched, slender, up to 2 feet tall, smooth, sometimes flat and twisted.
Leaves: Elongated, up to 8 inches long, smooth.
Flowers: Several in a loose cluster near the top of the stem, the cluster up to 3 inches long: bract, which appears to be an upward extension of the stem, upright, up to 6 inches long, smooth.
Sepals: 3, free from each other, lanceolate, greenish or straw-colored, up to 1/4 inch long.
Petals: 3, free from each other, lanceolate, greenish or straw-colored, up to 1/4 inch long.
Stamens: 6.
Pistils: Ovary superior, smooth.
Fruits: Capsules ovoid, brown, pointed at the tip, up to 1/4 inch long: seeds oblongoid.
Notes: This species is similar to Juncus balticus and is sometimes merged with it.

Previous Species -- Merten's Rush (Juncus mertensianus)
Return to Species List -- Group 4
Next Species -- Sierra Rush (Juncus nevadensis)

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/florawe/species/4/juncmexi.htm
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