OregonFlora: Juncus canadensis vs. Juncus breweri

	Juncus canadensis	Juncus breweri
	Canada rush, Canadian rush	Brewer's rush, salt rush
Habit	Plants perennial, 30–100 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 1–1.2 mm.	lacking blades; older distal sheaths 2–13 cm, dark brown; shiny; apex usually symmetrical; thin.
Inflorescences	panicles of 3–50 clusters; clusters 5–50-flowered, not obscured by inflorescence bract.	dense head-like clusters of 10–20 flowers; branches obscured.
Flowers	tepals 6, green; reddish, or pale brown; tips acuminate; stamens 3; filaments 0.8–1.5 mm; anthers 0.3–0.5 mm; styles 0.2–0.3 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	usually 0–1 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, 1.25–1.9 × 0.2–0.25 mm; bodies 0.5– 0.8 mm; tails 0.3–0.5 mm, 0.5–1 times as long as seed body.	0.7–1.1 × 0.4–0.6 mm, not apiculate.
2n	=80.

	Juncus canadensis	Juncus breweri
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Shores, ponds, peatlands, disturbed sandy acidic wet ground, cranberry farms, ditches. 0–100 m. Est. WA; north to British Columbia; eastern North America; Europe, New Zealand. Exotic. This species was introduced by cranberry agriculture and is spreading into natural wetlands. Some authors suggest rare flowers have 6 stamens.	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 273 Peter Zika	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 272 Peter Zika
Sibling taxa	J. acuminatus, J. anthelatus, J. articulatus, J. balticus, J. bolanderi, J. brevicaudatus, J. breweri, J. bryoides, J. bufonius, J. bulbosus, 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

Canada rush, Canadian rush

Brewer's rush, salt rush

Habit

Plants perennial, 30–100 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 1–1.2 mm.

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

apex usually symmetrical; thin.

Inflorescences

panicles of 3–50 clusters; clusters 5–50-flowered, not obscured by inflorescence bract.

dense head-like clusters of 10–20 flowers;

branches obscured.

Flowers

tepals 6, green; reddish, or pale brown;

tips acuminate;

stamens 3;

filaments 0.8–1.5 mm;

anthers 0.3–0.5 mm;

styles 0.2–0.3 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

usually 0–1 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, 1.25–1.9 × 0.2–0.25 mm;

bodies 0.5– 0.8 mm; tails 0.3–0.5 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

Shores, ponds, peatlands, disturbed sandy acidic wet ground, cranberry farms, ditches. 0–100 m. Est. WA; north to British Columbia; eastern North America; Europe, New Zealand. Exotic.

This species was introduced by cranberry agriculture and is spreading into natural wetlands. Some authors suggest rare flowers have 6 stamens.

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 273
Peter Zika

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 272
Peter Zika

Sibling taxa