Juncus arcticus |
Juncus megacephalus |
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arctic rush |
bighead rush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 2–10 dm. | Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, 3–11 dm. | ||||||||
Rhizomes | long- creeping. |
3–4 diam. |
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Culms | erect, 1–3 mm diam. |
erect, terete, 3–4 mm diam., smooth. |
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Cataphylls | several. |
1–2, purple, apex acute. |
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Leaves | blade usually absent (present in var. mexicanus). |
basal 0–1, cauline 2–3; auricles 0.5–2 mm, apex acute, membranaceous; blade terete, 0–24 cm × 0.5–1.7 mm, most distal cauline leaf blade 0–2 cm, shorter than sheath. |
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Inflorescences | lateral, 3–many-flowered, loose to congested; primary bract barely exceeding to many times longer than inflorescence. |
panicles of (1–)3–21 heads, 1–8 cm, branches erect to spreading; primary bract erect; heads 40–60-flowered, spheric, 8–12 mm diam. |
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Flowers | variously pedicellate; bracteoles membranous; tepals chestnut brown or paler, lanceolate, (2.5–)3.3–5.5(–6) mm, margins clear; inner series loosely subtending capsule at maturity; usually slightly shorter, margins scarious to clear, apex acutish to obtuse; stamens 6, filaments 0.2–1.1 mm, anthers 0.9–2.2 mm; style 0.9–1.5 mm. |
tepals straw-colored to reddish brown, lanceolate-subulate; outer tepals 2.9–4.1 mm, apex acuminate; inner tepals 2.2–3.7 mm, apex acuminate; stamens 3, anthers 1/4–1/2 filament length. |
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Capsules | 3-locular or infrequently pseudo-3-locular, oblate to narrowly ovoid, 3.5–4(–4.5) mm, equal to or exceeding perianth. |
exserted, , straw-colorerd, 1-locular, subulate, 2.5–4.2 mm, apex tapering to subulate beak, valves not separat ing at dehiscence, fertile throughout or only proximal to middle. |
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Seeds | dark amber, oblate to ellipsoid, 0.6–0.8 mm. |
ellipsoid to ovoid, 0.4 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown. |
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Juncus arcticus |
Juncus megacephalus |
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Phenology | Fruiting summer. | |||||||||
Habitat | Fresh marshes, moist hollows of sand dunes, swales, roadside ditches, and dry fertile soil | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AK; AR; AZ; CA; CO; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NH; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SD; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Mexico; South America; Asia
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MD; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA
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Discussion | Numerous entities have been circumscribed and recognized at various nomenclatural ranks by a plethora of authors addressing state or regional floras. In considering the Juncus arcticus-balticus complex as a whole in North America, one is soon confronted with a wide-ranging and obviously polymorphic complex that has not read the literature. It is abundantly clear that the systematics of the group will not be solved on the basis of morphology alone and that resolution of the problem is ripe for molecular investigations. Varieties 3 7 (3 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Genuini | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Septati | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | J. scirpoides var. carolinianus, J. scirpoides var. echinatus | |||||||||
Name authority | Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2: 206. (1799) | M. A. Curtis: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 1: 132. (1835) | ||||||||
Web links |
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