Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Juncus acutus

Juncus coriaceus

sharp rush, spiny rush

leathery rush
Habit Herbs, perennial, tufted, 3–9 dm.
Rhizomes

densely branching.
Culms

few to many.
Cataphylls

1–3.
Leaves

basal, 0–1(–2);

auricles 0.2–0.4(–0.6) mm, scarious to leathery;

blade nearly terete but slightly channeled adaxially, 10–50 cm × 0.7–1.8 mm, margins entire..
Inflorescences

falsely lateral, 5–35-flowered, loose to congested, 1–8 cm;

primary bract exceeding inflorescence.
Flowers

pedicels 0.5–2.5 mm;

bracteoles 2;

tepals dark green, lanceolate, 3.5–5 mm;

inner series slightly shorter, apex acute;

stamens 6, fewer in cleistogamous flowers, filaments 0.8–1.2 mm, anthers 0.5–1.1 mm;

style 0.9–1.3 mm.
Capsules

light to dark brown, 1-locular, widely ovoid to nearly globose, 3.5–5 × 2.6–3.2 mm.
Seeds

light to dark brown, oblate, 0.55–0.73 mm, not tailed.
2n

= 80.

Juncus acutus

Juncus coriaceus
Phenology Flowering and fruiting spring–early summer.
Habitat Springy, wet woodlands, stream banks, marshy areas, flatwood depressions, and shaded or exposed disturbed, sites with poor drainage
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; South America; Mexico (Baja Calif); South Africa; Atlantic Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; KY; LA; MD; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OK; SC; TN; VA; Texas
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 22, p. 237. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Juncus Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Poiophylli
Sibling taxa
J. acuminatus, J. acutiflorus, J. alpinoarticulatus, J. anthelatus, J. arcticus, J. articulatus, J. biglumis, J. bolanderi, J. brachycarpus, J. brachycephalus, J. brachyphyllus, J. brevicaudatus, J. bryoides, J. bufonius, J. bulbosus, J. caesariensis, J. canadensis, J. capillaris, J. capitatus, J. castaneus, J. chlorocephalus, J. compressus, J. confusus, J. cooperi, J. coriaceus, J. covillei, J. debilis, J. dichotomus, J. diffusissimus, J. drummondii, J. dubius, J. dudleyi, J. effusus, J. elliottii, J. ensifolius, J. falcatus, J. filiformis, J. filipendulus, J. georgianus, J. gerardii, J. greenei, J. gymnocarpus, J. hallii, J. hemiendytus, J. howellii, J. inflexus, J. interior, J. kelloggii, J. leiospermus, J. lesueurii, J. longistylis, J. luciensis, J. macrandrus, J. macrophyllus, J. marginatus, J. maritimus, J. megacephalus, J. mertensianus, J. militaris, J. nevadensis, J. nodatus, J. nodosus, J. occidentalis, J. orthophyllus, J. oxymeris, J. parryi, J. patens, J. pelocarpus, J. pervetus, J. phaeocephalus, J. polycephalus, J. regelii, J. repens, J. roemerianus, J. scirpoides, J. secundus, J. squarrosus, J. stygius, J. subcaudatus, J. subtilis, J. supiniformis, J. tenuis, J. texanus, J. textilis, J. tiehmii, J. torreyi, J. trifidus, J. triformis, J. triglumis, J. trigonocarpus, J. uncialis, J. validus, J. vaseyi, J. xiphioides
J. acuminatus, J. acutiflorus, J. acutus, J. alpinoarticulatus, J. anthelatus, J. arcticus, J. articulatus, J. biglumis, J. bolanderi, J. brachycarpus, J. brachycephalus, J. brachyphyllus, J. brevicaudatus, J. bryoides, J. bufonius, J. bulbosus, J. caesariensis, J. canadensis, J. capillaris, J. capitatus, J. castaneus, J. chlorocephalus, J. compressus, J. confusus, J. cooperi, J. covillei, J. debilis, J. dichotomus, J. diffusissimus, J. drummondii, J. dubius, J. dudleyi, J. effusus, J. elliottii, J. ensifolius, J. falcatus, J. filiformis, J. filipendulus, J. georgianus, J. gerardii, J. greenei, J. gymnocarpus, J. hallii, J. hemiendytus, J. howellii, J. inflexus, J. interior, J. kelloggii, J. leiospermus, J. lesueurii, J. longistylis, J. luciensis, J. macrandrus, J. macrophyllus, J. marginatus, J. maritimus, J. megacephalus, J. mertensianus, J. militaris, J. nevadensis, J. nodatus, J. nodosus, J. occidentalis, J. orthophyllus, J. oxymeris, J. parryi, J. patens, J. pelocarpus, J. pervetus, J. phaeocephalus, J. polycephalus, J. regelii, J. repens, J. roemerianus, J. scirpoides, J. secundus, J. squarrosus, J. stygius, J. subcaudatus, J. subtilis, J. supiniformis, J. tenuis, J. texanus, J. textilis, J. tiehmii, J. torreyi, J. trifidus, J. triformis, J. triglumis, J. trigonocarpus, J. uncialis, J. validus, J. vaseyi, J. xiphioides
Subordinate taxa
J. acutus subsp. leopoldii
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 325. (1753) Mackenzie: Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 56:28. (1929)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers