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Coville's rush

inland rush, interior juncus, interior rush

Habit Herbs, perennial, strongly rhizomatous, 0.5–2.5 dm. Herbs, perennial, tufted, 2–6 dm.
Rhizomes

densely branching.

Culms

erect, slightly flattened.

1–10.

Cataphylls

1–3.

Leaves

basal 2–5, cauline 2–4;

auricles absent or, if present, 0.5–1.5 mm, apex acute;

blade flat, 5–15 cm × 2–3 mm.

basal, 1–2(–3);

auricles whitish or purplish tinged, 0.2–0.4(–0.6) mm, scarious;

blade flat, 5–15 cm × 0.5–1.1 mm, margins entire.

Inflorescences

glomerules, 1–6, each with 3–7 flowers, open to aggregate, 2–6 cm;

primary bract or distal leaves usually exceeding inflorescences.

usually somewhat compact, 1.5–7 cm;

primary bract usually shorter than inflorescence.

Flowers

tepals usually brown, ovate-oblong, 3–4 mm, margins scarious;

inner series slightly shorter, minutely papillate;

stamens 6, filaments 0.8–1.4 mm, anthers 0.8–1.4 mm;

style 1 mm.

bracteoles 2;

tepals greenish, lanceolate, 3.3–4.4 mm, apex acuminate;

stamens 6, filaments 0.5–0.9 mm, anthers 0.4–0.6 mm;

style 0.1–0.2 mm.

Capsules

3-locular, narrowly ovoid, 4–5 mm.

light tan or darker, 1-locular to pseudo-3-locular, ellipsoid to nearly globose, (3.3–)3.8–4.7 mm, nearly equal to or longer than tepals.

Seeds

narrowly ovoid, 0.3 mm, not tailed.

tan, ellipsoid to lunate, 0.436–0.73 mm, not tailed.

2n

= 80.

Juncus covillei

Juncus interior

Phenology Flowering and fruiting late spring–early summer.
Habitat Dry, often upland sites in prairies, exposed disturbed sites, and ditches in sandy or clayey soils
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; BC; Coastal to montane areas
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; AZ; CO; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; OH; OK; SD; TN; UT; WI; WY; AB; MB; ON; QC; SK; Texas
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Perianth dark brown, apex of inner series rounded; capsule dark brown, 1 mm longer than perianth
var. covillei
1. Perianth pale brown, apex of inner series acute to obtuse; capsule pale brown, barely exceeding perianth
var. obtusatus
Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Graminifolii Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Poiophylli
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. canadensis, J. capillaris, J. capitatus, J. castaneus, J. chlorocephalus, J. compressus, J. confusus, J. cooperi, J. coriaceus, 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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
J. covillei var. covillei, J. covillei var. obtusatus
Synonyms J. falcatus var. paniculatus J. arizonicus, J. interior var. arizonicus, J. interior var. neomexicanus, J. monostichus, J. neomexicanus
Name authority Piper: Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium 11: 182. (1906) Wiegand: Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 516. (1900)
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