Flora of North America species comparison

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Juncus articulatus

Juncus brachycarpus

joint-leaf rush, jointed rush

short-fruit rush, white-root rush
Habit Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous to nearly cespitose, 0.5–6(–10) dm. Herbs, perennial, not cespitose, rhizomatous, (3–)4.5–8(–9) dm.
Rhizomes

2–3 mm diam., not swollen.

tuberous, 3–4 mm diam.
Culms

erect to decumbent (and floating), terete, 1–3 mm diam., smooth.

erect, terete, 2–3 mm diam., smooth.
Cataphylls

1, maroon to straw-colored, apex acute to obtuse.

0(–1), straw-colored, apex acute.
Leaves

basal 0–2, cauline (1–)3–6;

auricles 0.5–1 mm, apex rounded, scarious;

blade green to straw-colored, terete, 3.5–12 cm × 0.5–1.1 mm.

basal 1–2, cauline 2–4, auricles 0.5–3.5 mm, apex rounded, scarious;

blade green to straw-colored, terete, 3–50 cm × 1–2 mm diam.
Inflorescences

terminal panicles of 3–30(–50) heads, 3.5–8 cm, branches spreading;

primary bract erect;

heads 3–10-flowered, obpyramidal to hemispheric, 6–8 mm diam.

terminal panicles of 2–10(–20) heads or a single head, 1–4(–10) cm, branches ascending;

primary bract erect;

heads 30–100-flowered, spheric, 8–10 mm diam.
Flowers

tepals green to straw-colored or dark brown, ovate to lanceolate, 1.8–3 mm;

outer tepals with apex acute or acuminate;

inner tepals with apex acute acuminate to obtuse;

stamens 6, anthers equal to filament length.

tepals green to straw-colored, often red-tinted, lanceolate-subulate, apex acuminate;

outer tepals 2.5–3.8 mm;

inner tepals 2–3.2 mm;

stamens 3, anthers 1/4–1/2 filament length.
Capsules

exserted ca. 1 mm beyond perianth, chestnut brown to dark brown, imperfectly 3-locular, ellipsoid or ovoid, 2.8–4 mm, apex acute proximal to beak, valves separating at dehiscence.

included, chestnut brown, 1-locular, obconic or ovoid, 1.8–2.7 mm, apex obtuse, valves separating at dehiscence, fertile throughout or only proximal to middle.
Seeds

obovoid, 0.5 mm, not tailed.

ellipsoid to oblique-oblong, 0.3–0.4 mm, not tailed;

cody clear to yellow-brown.
2n

= 80.

= 44.

Juncus articulatus

Juncus brachycarpus
Phenology Fruiting mid summer–fall. Fruiting mid summer–fall.
Habitat Wet ground in ditches, lake and stream margins, and a variety of other habitats, often a calciphile Damp clayey, peaty, or sandy soils, swamps, ditches, ponds, wet woods, wet prairies
Elevation 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft) 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; CT; ID; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; UT; VA; VT; WA; WV; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM; Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Juncus articulatus hybridizes with J. brevicaudatus (= J. ×fulvescens Fernald), J. alpinus (= J. ×alpiniformis Fernald), J. nodosus, and J. canadensis.

Juncus articulatus var. obtusatus Engelmann appears to be intermediate with J. alpinus. It has spreading inflorescence branches but obtuse inner tepals. This may represent a backcross with J. alpinus. Recent evidence suggests that J. alpinus is a polyploid species with J. articulatus as one of its parents.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Septati Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Septati
Sibling taxa
J. acuminatus, J. acutiflorus, J. acutus, J. alpinoarticulatus, J. anthelatus, J. arcticus, 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. 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
Synonyms J. articulatus var. obtusatus, J. articulatus var. stolonifer, J. lampocarpus
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 327. (1753) Engelmann: in A. Gray, Manual of Botany of the Northern United States (ed. 5) 542. (1867)
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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).



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