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Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains

61. Juncaceae, the Rush Family

1. Juncus L. -- Rush

13. Juncus marginatus Rostk. -- Grassleaf rush


Rhizomatous perennial 2-5 dm tall; culms solitary or in small tufts, bulbous-thickened at the base. Leaves basal and cauline, 2-5 per culm, the blades flat, grasslike, 1-3 mm wide; sheaths green, membranous-margined, extended into 2 low, rounded auricles at the summit. Inflorescence open and spreading or sometimes narrow and congested, with 4-many hemispheric to subglobose glomerules containing several to many flowers. Flowers pale brown, 2-3.5 mm long; outer tepals broadly lanceolate, acute to acuminate, often awn-tipped; inner tepals elliptic-obovate, broader and longer than the outer ones, with broad, scarious margins, blunt-tipped; stamens 3. Capsules obovoid, nearly 3-locular, shorter than to equaling the tepals, rounded to retuse and apiculate at the apex; seeds ellipsoid or asymmetrically so, 0.3-0.5 mm long, apiculate at the ends. Jun--Sep. Wet meadows, spring borders and stream banks where water is fresh, often where sandy; occasional from sw and s SD through w and c NE; (Newf. to MI and SD, s to FL, TX and AZ).
GIF- Distribution Map

Map key


Previous Section -- Juncus longistylis Torr.
Return to Family -- Juncaceae - The Rush Family
Next Section -- Juncus nodosus L. -- Jointed rush

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