OregonFlora: Juncus brevicaudatus vs. Juncus breweri

	Juncus brevicaudatus	Juncus breweri
	short-tailed rush	Brewer's rush, salt rush
Habit	Plants perennial, 14–55 cm tall, cespitose.	Plants perennial, 20–140 cm tall, rhizomatous, stems usually flattened, often arching, twisted, without strong ridges visible fresh or dried.
Leaves	basal and cauline; round; hollow, septate, 1–2 mm wide; auricles 0.5–3 mm.	lacking blades; older distal sheaths 2–13 cm, dark brown; shiny; apex usually symmetrical; thin.
Inflorescences	2–35 clusters; clusters mostly 2–5-flowered, elliptic to narrowly obconic, lacking bulblets.	dense head-like clusters of 10–20 flowers; branches obscured.
Flowers	tepals 6, green, red; pale or medium brown; tips acuminate; stamens 3; filaments 0.6–0.8 mm; anthers 0.3–0.5 mm; styles 0.1–0.3 mm.	tepals 6, usually 6–8 mm, dark brown- or black-striped; stamens 6; filaments 0.4–0.7 mm; anthers 1.6–2.8 mm; styles 0.7–1.4 mm.
Capsules	1–1.5 mm longer than the tepals, dark brown, 1-chambered.	3–5 mm; shorter than or equaling the tepals, dark brown; apex obtuse to acute, 3-chambered.
Seeds	narrowly ellipsoid to linear, 0.8–1.1 × 0.2–0.3 mm; body 0.5–0.6 mm; tails 0.2– 0.4 mm, 0.5–1 times as long as seed body.	0.7–1.1 × 0.4–0.6 mm, not apiculate.
2n	=80.

	Juncus brevicaudatus	Juncus breweri
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Wet acidic sandy banks, shores, mossy ditches, cranberry farms. 0–50 m. Est. ID, WA; northeastern US, Great Lakes area, southern Canada; AZ, CO, WY. Exotic. This species is native to northeastern Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, and eastern North America, but it is introduced in Oregon.	Dunes, sandy swales, sandy ditches. 0–50 m. Est. CA, WA, north to British Columbia. Native. The little-known Juncus lescurii may represent a series of fertile hybrids between J. balticus and J. breweri and is intermediate in inflorescence characters. Juncus breweri has a denser and more nearly globose inflorescence than the other two taxa, with its inflorescence branches obscured by the compact arrangement of flowers or capsules.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 271 Peter Zika	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 272 Peter Zika
Sibling taxa	J. acuminatus, J. anthelatus, J. articulatus, J. balticus, J. bolanderi, J. breweri, J. bryoides, J. bufonius, J. bulbosus, J. canadensis, J. capillaris, J. capitatus, J. compressus, J. confusus, J. conglomeratus, J. covillei, J. diffusissimus, J. drummondii, J. dudleyi, J. effusus, J. ensifolius, J. ensifolius x Juncus nevadensis, J. exiguus, J. falcatus, J. filiformis, J. gerardi, J. hemiendytus, J. hesperius, J. howellii, J. inflexus, J. interior, J. kelloggii, J. laccatus, J. lescurii, J. longistylis, J. marginatus, J. mertensianus, J. mexicanus, J. nevadensis, J. occidentalis, J. orthophyllus, J. oxymeris, J. parryi, J. patens, J. pelocarpus, J. planifolius, J. ranarius, J. regelii, J. saximontanus, J. supiniformis, J. tenuis, J. tiehmii, J. torreyi, J. triglumis, J. trilocularis, J. uncialis	J. acuminatus, J. anthelatus, J. articulatus, J. balticus, J. bolanderi, J. brevicaudatus, J. bryoides, J. bufonius, J. bulbosus, J. canadensis, J. capillaris, J. capitatus, J. compressus, J. confusus, J. conglomeratus, J. covillei, J. diffusissimus, J. drummondii, J. dudleyi, J. effusus, J. ensifolius, J. ensifolius x Juncus nevadensis, J. exiguus, J. falcatus, J. filiformis, J. gerardi, J. hemiendytus, J. hesperius, J. howellii, J. inflexus, J. interior, J. kelloggii, J. laccatus, J. lescurii, J. longistylis, J. marginatus, J. mertensianus, J. mexicanus, J. nevadensis, J. occidentalis, J. orthophyllus, J. oxymeris, J. parryi, J. patens, J. pelocarpus, J. planifolius, J. ranarius, J. regelii, J. saximontanus, J. supiniformis, J. tenuis, J. tiehmii, J. torreyi, J. triglumis, J. trilocularis, J. uncialis
Synonyms		Juncus arcticus, Juncus arcticus var. balticus
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Juncus breweri

short-tailed rush

Brewer's rush, salt rush

Habit

Plants perennial, 14–55 cm tall, cespitose.

Plants perennial, 20–140 cm tall, rhizomatous, stems usually flattened, often arching, twisted, without strong ridges visible fresh or dried.

Leaves

basal and cauline; round; hollow, septate, 1–2 mm wide;

auricles 0.5–3 mm.

lacking blades; older distal sheaths 2–13 cm, dark brown; shiny;

apex usually symmetrical; thin.

Inflorescences

2–35 clusters; clusters mostly 2–5-flowered, elliptic to narrowly obconic, lacking bulblets.

dense head-like clusters of 10–20 flowers;

branches obscured.

Flowers

tepals 6, green, red; pale or medium brown;

tips acuminate;

stamens 3;

filaments 0.6–0.8 mm;

anthers 0.3–0.5 mm;

styles 0.1–0.3 mm.

tepals 6, usually 6–8 mm, dark brown- or black-striped;

stamens 6;

filaments 0.4–0.7 mm;

anthers 1.6–2.8 mm;

styles 0.7–1.4 mm.

Capsules

1–1.5 mm longer than the tepals, dark brown, 1-chambered.

3–5 mm; shorter than or equaling the tepals, dark brown;

apex obtuse to acute, 3-chambered.

Seeds

narrowly ellipsoid to linear, 0.8–1.1 × 0.2–0.3 mm;

body 0.5–0.6 mm; tails 0.2– 0.4 mm, 0.5–1 times as long as seed body.

0.7–1.1 × 0.4–0.6 mm, not apiculate.

=80.

Juncus breweri

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Wet acidic sandy banks, shores, mossy ditches, cranberry farms. 0–50 m. Est. ID, WA; northeastern US, Great Lakes area, southern Canada; AZ, CO, WY. Exotic.

This species is native to northeastern Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, and eastern North America, but it is introduced in Oregon.

Dunes, sandy swales, sandy ditches. 0–50 m. Est. CA, WA, north to British Columbia. Native.

The little-known Juncus lescurii may represent a series of fertile hybrids between J. balticus and J. breweri and is intermediate in inflorescence characters. Juncus breweri has a denser and more nearly globose inflorescence than the other two taxa, with its inflorescence branches obscured by the compact arrangement of flowers or capsules.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 271
Peter Zika

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 272
Peter Zika

Sibling taxa