Juncus acutiflorus |
Juncus tenuis |
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sharpflower rush |
path rush, poverty or slender rush, poverty rush, slender rush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, to 8 dm. | Herbs, perennial, tufted, 1.5–5 dm. |
Rhizomes | 5–6 mm diam., nodes not swollen. |
densely branching. |
Culms | erect, terete, 3 mm diam., smooth. |
few–20. |
Cataphylls | 1, straw-colored, apex acute. |
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Leaves | basal 1, cauline 2; auricles 0.5 mm, apex rounded, cartilaginous; blade 7–45 cm x 1–2 mm, terete, not scabrous. |
basal, (1–)2–3; auricles 2–5 mm, apex acute, membranous; blade flat, 3–12 cm × 0.5–1 mm, margins entire. |
Inflorescences | terminal panicles of 70–120 heads, 6–10 cm, branches ascending; primary bract erect; heads 3–5(–8)-flowered, obconic, 2–4 mm diam. |
5–40-flowered, borne congested or branch internodes ca. as long as tepals, ssomewhat loose, 1–5 cm; primary bract usually longer than inflorescence. |
Flowers | tepals dark reddish brown, lanceolate, apex acuminate to subulate tipte; outer tepals 1.9–2.2 mm; inner tepals 2–2.3 mm; stamens 6, anthers 2 times filament length. |
bracteoles 2; tepals greenish, lanceolate, 3.3–4.4 mm; outer and inner series nearly equal; stamens 6, filaments 0.5–0.9 mm, anthers 0.1–0.2 mm; style 0.1–0.2 mm. |
Capsules | inserted with beak exserted, straw-colored, 1-locular, narrowly ovoid, 2.3–2.4 mm, tapering to subulate tip, valves separating at dehiscence. |
tan or light brown, 1-locular to pseudo-3-locular, ellipsoid, (3.3–)3.8–4.7 × (1.1–)1.3–1.7 mm, nearly equal to tepals. |
Seeds | narrowly ovoid, 0.5–0.6 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown. |
tan, ellipsoid to lunate, (0.52–)5.5–0.65(–0.7) mm, not tailed. |
2n | = 80. |
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Juncus acutiflorus |
Juncus tenuis |
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Phenology | Fruiting fall. | Flowering spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Wet woods | Exposed or shaded sites in soils ranging from sandy to clayey under moist or drier conditions, oftentimes these sites naturally or otherwise disturbed (e.g., game or human trails) |
Elevation | 0–10 m (0–0 ft) | |
Distribution |
NF; SPM; Europe; Asia; Africa |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK [Introduced worldwide]
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Discussion | Juncus tenuis occurs throughout North America. It is particularly abundant in northeastern United States and eastern Canada, although infrequent in the south and west. Through the use of isozyme electrophoresis, hybridization can be demonstrated between various members of the Juncus tenuis complex, including Juncus tenuis, J. anthelatus, J. interior, J. secundus, and J. dichotomus (R. E. Brooks, unpubl.). Juncus ××oronensis is thought to be a hybrid between J. tenuis and J. vaseyi in the northeast. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | J. bicornis, J. bicornis var. williamsii, J. macer, J. macer, J. macer var. williamsii, J. tenuis var. bicornis, J. tenuis var. multicornis, J. tenuis var. williamsii | |
Name authority | Ehrhart: in G. F. Hoffmann, Deutschl. Fl. 1: 125. (1791) | Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2(1): 214. (1799) |
Web links |
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