Juncus chlorocephalus |
Juncus nevadensis |
|
---|---|---|
green head rush |
Nevada rush, Sierra rush |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, 2–4.5 dm. | Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, 0.5–7 dm. |
Rhizomes | 1 mm diam., not swollen. |
|
Culms | erect, terete, 1–3 mm diam., smooth. |
erect, terete, 1.5–3 mm diam., smooth. |
Cataphylls | 1, straw-colored or maroon, apex acute. |
0–1, maroon or straw-colored, apex acute. |
Leaves | basal 1–2, cauline 2–3; auricles 2–3.5 mm, apex rounded, scarious; blade terete, 2–16 cm × 1–2 mm. |
basal 1–3, cauline 1–2; auricles 1–3.2 mm, apex rounded to acute, membranaceous; blade green, laterally flattened, 1.5–31 cm × 0.5–2.2 mm. |
Inflorescences | single heads (rarely cluster of 2–3 heads), 0.5–2 cm; primary bract erect; heads 15–25-flowered, spheric, 11–14 mm diam. |
terminal panicles of 2–11 heads, 2–18 cm, branches erect to spreading; primary bract erect; heads 3–11-flowered, hemispheric to obpyramidal (rarely nearly spheric), 5–14 mm diam. |
Flowers | tepals light green to light pink or white, lanceolate, 3.1–4.2 mm, apex obtuse; stamens 6, anthers 2–3 times filament length. |
tepals dark brown to white, lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate, mucro subulate; outer tepals 2.8–6.2 mm; inner tepals 2.4–6 mm; stamens 6, anthers 1–2 times filament length. |
Capsules | included, straw-colored, 1-locular, broadly obovoid to ovoid, 2.2–2.5 mm, apex obtuse, valves separating at dehiscence, fertile throughout or only proximal to middle. |
included to slightly exserted, chestnut brown, ellipsoid, 2.3–3.7 mm, abruptly contracted to apex, apex acute proximal to beak, valves separating at dehiscence. |
Seeds | oblong, 0.5 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown. |
ellipsoid, 0.4–0.5 mm, not tailed. |
Juncus chlorocephalus |
Juncus nevadensis |
|
Phenology | Fruiting mid summer–fall. | Fruiting early summer–fall. |
Habitat | Sandbars, meadows, damp soil in rock outcrops, and talus | Wet banks along margins of streams and lakes, marshes, bogs, sloughs, and wet or boggy prairies |
Elevation | 1400–3000 m (4600–9800 ft) | 0–2600 m (0–8500 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; NV
|
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; SK
|
Discussion | This variable species has been divided into five separate taxa in the past (F. J. Hermann 1964; C. L. Hitchcock et al. 1955–1969, vol. 1), but more recently, most of the variants have not been separated (A. Cronquist et al. 1972+, vol. 6). The Oregon coastal endemic, Juncus nevadensis var. inventus L. F. Henderson) C. L. Hitchcock, is at one extreme of the variation, having only a single head, fairly dark brown tepals 3.5–4.5 mm, anthers only slightly longer than the filaments, and a distinct habitat. The J. mertensianus var. columbianus segregate, however, approaches var. inventus in number of heads, and the other characters are so highly variable in the complex, they cannot be used alone to separate this variety. Therefore, we are not recognizing any infraspecific taxa at this time. (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 | ||
Synonyms | J. badius, J. columbianus, J. mertensianuss subsp. gracilis, J. mertensianus var. badius, J. mertensianus var. columbianus, J. mertensianus var. gracilis, J. mertensianus var. suksdorfii, J. nevadensis var. badius, J. nevadensis var. columbianus, J. nevadensis var. inventus, J. phaeocephalus var. gracilis, J. suksdorfii, J. truncatus | |
Name authority | Engelmann | S. Watson: Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 14: 303. (1879) |
Web links |
|