Juncus bufonius |
Juncus texanus |
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common toad rush, toad rush |
Texas rush |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, cespitose, 0.5–4 dm. | Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, 2.5–6 dm. |
Rhizomes | 1 mm diam., with swollen nodes. |
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Culms | 1–many, occasionally becoming decumbent. |
erect, terete, 1–3 mm diam., smooth. |
Cataphylls | 0–2. |
0 or 1–2, straw-colored, apex rounded. |
Leaves | basal and cauline; auricles rudimentary or absent; blade flat, 3–13 cm × 0.3–1.1 mm. |
basal 0–1, cauline 3–5, auricles 1.5–2.5 mm, apex rounded to acutae, scarious; blade straw-colored to green, terete, 5.5–20 cm × 1–2.5 mm. |
Inflorescences | loose and diffuse or less often compact, usually at least ½1/2 total height of plant; primary bract shorter than inflorescence. |
terminal panicles of 2–16 heads, 2.5–6 cm, branches ascending, spreading, or reflexed; primary bract erect to spreading; heads 10–40-flowered, spheric, 11–15 mm diam. |
Flowers | bracteoles 2; tepals greenish, lanceolate, 3.8–7(–8.5) mm; inner series slightly shorter, apex sometimes obtuse; stamens 3–6, filaments (0.7–)1–1.8 mm, anthers 0.3–0.8 mm; style 0.1–0.2 mm. |
tepals green or straw-colored to reddish brown, lance-subulate, apex acuminate; outer tepals (3.5–)4–4.9 mm; inner tepals 3.9–5.4 mm; stamens 6, anthers 2–3 times filament length. |
Capsules | tan to reddish brown, 3-locular, ellipsoid to narrowly so, slightly truncate, 2.7–4 × 1–1.5 mm, sometimes exceeding inner tepals but usually not outer series. |
exserted, chestnut brown, 1-locular, lance-subulate, 5.2–6.5(–8) mm, apex tapering, valves separating at dehiscence, fertile throughout or only proximal to middle. |
Seeds | yellowish, widely ellipsoid to ovoid, 0.26–0.49, not tailed. |
obovoid, 0.45–0.5 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown. |
2n | = 27–37, 58–81, 108–115. |
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Juncus bufonius |
Juncus texanus |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting spring–early fall. | Fruiting summer. |
Habitat | Moist soils in meadows, along lakeshores or stream banks, ditches, or roadsides, especially frequent in drawdown areas, usually in open sites and often becoming weedy | Swamps, depressions, seeps, sand or gravel bars, and wet mud |
Elevation | 400–600 m (1300–2000 ft) | |
Distribution |
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; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; nearly worldwide
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LA; OK; TX |
Discussion | Nearly worldwide, Juncus bufonius is found essentially throughout North America except north of the Alaskan and Canadian tTaiga. Juncus bufonius is a highly polymorphic complex that is poorly understood systematically. Insufficient evidence exists upon which to base the segregation of the plethora of taxa that have been recognized out of this group in the past. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Poiophylli | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Septati |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | J. bufonius var. congestus, J. bufonius var. halophilus, J. bufonius var. hybridus, J. bufonius var. occidentalis, J. bufonius var. ranarius, J. congestus, J. ranarius | J. nodosus var. texanus |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 328. (1753) | (Engelmann) Coville: in J. K. Small, Flora of the Southeastern United States 259. (1903) |
Web links |
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