Flora of North America species comparison

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Juncus canadensis

Juncus ensifolius var. montanus

(synonym of Juncus saximontanus)

Canada rush, Canadian rush

Rocky Mountain rush, Tracy's rush
Habit Herbs, perennial, cespitose, 3–10 dm.
Culms

erect, 1–5 mm diam., smooth.

Cataphylls

0 or 1–2, straw-colored, apex rounded.

Leaves

basal 1, cauline 2–3;

auricles 1–1.2 mm, apex rounded, scarious;

blade terete, 7–22 cm × 1.2–3 mm.

2–25 cdm × 1.5–4 mm.
Inflorescences

panicles or racemes of 3–50 heads, 2–20 cm, branches erect to ascending;

primary bract erect;

heads 5–50-flowered, obconic to spheric, 3–10 mm diam.

3–20 heads;

heads obovoid to globose.
Flowers

tepals green or straw-colored to reddish brown, lanceolate;

outer tepals 2.7–3.8 mm, apex acuminate;

inner tepals 2.9–4 mm, apex acuminate;

stamens 3(–6), anthers 1/2 filament length.

outer tepals 2.7–3.6 mm;

inner tepals 2.7–3 mm;

stamens 6.
Capsules

equaling perianth or exserted, chestnut brown, imperfectly 3-locular, lanceoloid, 3.3–4.5 mm, acute proximal to beak, valves separating at dehiscence.

slightly exserted, ellipsoid, 2.4–4.3 mm.
Seeds

fusiform, 1.1–1.9 mm, tailed;

body covered with whitish translucent veil.

0.4–1 mm, tailed or more often not tailed.
2n

= 80.

Juncus canadensis

Juncus ensifolius var. montanus
Phenology Fruiting mid summer–fall. Fruiting early summer–fall.
Habitat Salt, brackish, and calcareous marshes, acid bogs, roadsides, tidal flats, swamps, patterned fen, lake shores, beaches Wet meadows, bogs, springy woods, stream and lake shores
Elevation 0–200 m (0–700 ft) 400–3000 m (1300–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; ; Mexico (s to Puebla, Veracruz)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Two varieties and two forms occurring within the flora have been recognized (M. L. Fernald 1945b). Juncus canadensis var. sparsiflorus has stiffly erect inflorescence branches, and the flowers are generally longer than those of var. canadensis. These varieties simply serve to give name to parts of the broad morphologic range of variation encountered in J. canadensis and do not appear to represent any distinct biological entities.

Juncus canadensis and the following three species form a distinctive group: they have ve been variously treated as speecies (as here), varieties of J. canadensis, or as two species, J. canadensis and a polymorphic species, J. brachysephalus, encompassing the other three species (B. Boivin 1967–1979, part IV). Most of the species are easily recognized at their extremes but show a fair amount of overlap.

(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. Ensifolii > Juncus ensifolius
Sibling taxa
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. 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. ensifolius var. ensifolius, J. ensifolius var. montanus
Synonyms J. canadensis var. longicaudatus, J. canadensis var. sparsiflorus, J. longicaudatus, J. polycephalus var. paradoxus J. xiphioides var. montanus, J. brunnescenns, J. ensifolius var. brunnescens, J. parous, J. saximontanus, J. tracyi, J. utahensis, J. xiphioides var. montanus
Name authority J. Gay ex Laharpe: in J. J. C. de Laharpe, Essai Monogr. Jonc. 46. (1825) (Engelmann) C. L. Hitchcock: in C. L. Hitchcock et al., Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest 1: 195. (1969)
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).



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