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 filiformis

sharp rush, spiny rush

thread rush
Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.2–3.5 dm.
Rhizomes

widely creeping, sparingly branched, 1.5–2 mm diam., nodes closely set.
Culms

terete, 1 mm diam.
Cataphylls

several.
Leaves

blade absent.
Inflorescences

3–10(–12)-flowered, loosely congested, 1–2 cm;

primary bract terete, nearly equaling to much longer than culm.
Flowers

pedicellate;

bracteoles broadly ovate, tepals light brown or green, lanceolate, 2.5–4.2 mm;

inner series loosely subtending capsule at maturity, slightly shorter, margins scarious;

stamens 6, filaments 0.5–0.9 mm, anthers 0.5–0.7 mm;

style 0.2 mm.
Capsules

tan, 3-locular, nearly globose, 2.5–3 × 1.8–2.1 mm, shorter than perianth.
Seeds

amber, 0.5–0.6 mm, not tailed.
2n

= 40, 70, 80, 84.

Juncus acutus

Juncus filiformis
Phenology Flowering and fruiting summer.
Habitat Usually sandy, moist or wet soil along stream banks, pools, lakes or in meadow depressions, rarely in bogs, frequently hidden by larger vegetation
Elevation 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; South America; Mexico (Baja Calif); South Africa; Atlantic Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OR; PA; UT; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; SPM; Greenland; Eurasia; Atlantic Islands (Iceland)
[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. Genuini
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. coriaceus, J. covillei, J. debilis, J. dichotomus, J. diffusissimus, J. drummondii, J. dubius, J. dudleyi, J. effusus, J. elliottii, J. ensifolius, J. falcatus, 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) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 326. (1753)
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, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

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