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black needle rush, blackgrass, blackgrass rush, Gerard's rush, saltmarsh rush, saltmeadow rush

Drummond rush, Drummond's rush, three-flower rush

Habit Herbs, perennial, 2–9 dm. Herbs, perennial, strongly tufted, to 4 dm.
Rhizomes

long- creeping.

densely short-branched.

Culms

terete.

Cataphylls

1–3.

several.

Leaves

basal, (1–)2–4;

auricles 0.4–0.6(–0.8) mm, scarious;

blade flat or somewhat channeled, 10–40 cm × 0.4–0.7 mm, margins entire.

blade absent or rarely present, to 1 cm.

Inflorescences

10–30(–80)-flowered, usually loose and somewhat lax, 2–16 cm;

primary bract rarely surpassing inflorescence.

2–5-flowered, loosely compact;

primary bract usually longer than inflorescence.

Flowers

bracteoles 2;

tepals dark brown or blackish, lanceolate-ovate to oblong, 2.6–3.2(–3.8) mm;

inner and outer series nearly equal, apex obtuse;

stamens 6, filaments 0.4–0.7 mm, anthers 1.1–1.6(–1.8) mm;

style 0.4 mm.

pedicellate;

tepals brown to chestnut brown with green midstripe, lanceolate or widely so, (4–)5–8 mm, margins clear;

inner series loosely subtending capsule at maturity, shorter;

stamens 6, filaments 0.7–1 mm, anthers 1.1–1.6 mm;

style 0.2 mm.

Capsules

chestnut brown or brown, 3-locular, widely ellipsoid, (2.2–)2.5–3.2(–3.5) × 1.3–1.9 mm.

brown to chestnut brown, 3-locular, oblate, 4.5–7(–8) × 1.8–2.2 mm, nearly equal to or exceeding perianth.

Seeds

dark brown, ellipsoid to lunate, 0.485–0.6(–0.67) mm, not tailed.

amber, body oblate, 0.5–0.6 mm.

2n

= ca. 80, 84.

Juncus gerardii

Juncus drummondii

Phenology Flowering and fruiting late spring–summer. Flowering and fruiting summer.
Habitat Forming extensive colonies in exposed coastal estuary meadows and salt marshes just above high- tide line, also inland Exposed slopes, stream banks, and meadows in montane and alpine areas
Elevation 1600–4000 m (5200–13100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; CT; DE; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; OR; PA; RI; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM; Greenland; Europe; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Plants with capsules distinctly longer than the perianth have been referred to as Juncus drummondii var. subtriflorus. Those plants frequently occur sympatrically with J. drummondii (strict sense) through most of its range, leaving considerable doubt as to the value of recognizing such variation.

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

Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Poiophylli Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Genuini
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. 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. 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. 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. bulbosus var. gerardii, J. fucensis, J. gerardii var. pedicellatus J. compressus var. subtriflorus, J. drummondii var. longifructus, J. drummondii var. subtriflorus, J. subtriflorus, J. pauperculus
Name authority Loiseleur-Deslongchamps: J. Bot. (Desvaux) 2: 284. (1809) E. Meyer: in C. F. von Ledebour, Flora Rossica 4: 235. (1853)
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