FNA: Juncus gerardii vs. Juncus supiniformis

	Juncus gerardii	Juncus supiniformis
	black needle rush, blackgrass, blackgrass rush, Gerard's rush, saltmarsh rush, saltmeadow rush	hair-leaf rush, hairy-leaf rush, spreading rush
Habit	Herbs, perennial, 2–9 dm.	Herbs, perennial, cespitose or matted, often decumbent, rooting at proximal nodes or floating, 0.3–5 dm.
Rhizomes	long- creeping.
Culms		erect, decumbent and rooting at nodes, or floating, terete, 1–2 mm diam., smooth.
Cataphylls	1–3.	0 or 1–2, straw-colored, apex acute.
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.	basal 1–3, cauline 1–4; auricles 0.8–2.1 mm, apex rounded to acute, membranaceous; blade terete, 3.7–15 cm × 0.4–1.3 mm, occasionally with filiform, flaccid, and floating leaves to 60 cm.
Inflorescences	10–30(–80)-flowered, usually loose and somewhat lax, 2–16 cm; primary bract rarely surpassing inflorescence.	terminal racemes of 2–9 heads, 2–10 cm, branches erect; primary bract erect; heads 2–12-flowered, obconic or rarely hemispheric, 4–13 mm diam.
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.	tepals light brown or greenish to reddish brown, linear to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate-subulate; outer tepals (2.1–)2.8–4.9 mm; inner tepals (2.1–)2.8–5.5 mm; stamens 3 or 6, anthers 1/2–3/4 filament length.
Capsules	chestnut brown or brown, 3-locular, widely ellipsoid, (2.2–)2.5–3.2(–3.5) × 1.3–1.9 mm.	usually exserted, dark brown, 1-locular, ovoid to oblong, (3.2–)3.5–6.1 mm, apex acute to acuminate proximal to beak, valves separating at dehiscence.
Seeds	dark brown, ellipsoid to lunate, 0.485–0.6(–0.67) mm, not tailed.	narrowly obovoid to obovoid, 0.6–0.7 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown..
n		= ca. 30, ca. 50–60, 2n = ca. 112.
2n	= ca. 80, 84.

	Juncus gerardii	Juncus supiniformis
Phenology	Flowering and fruiting late spring–summer.	Fruiting mid summer–fall.
Habitat	Forming extensive colonies in exposed coastal estuary meadows and salt marshes just above high- tide line, also inland	Pond, lake and river shores, marshes, bogs, and ditches
Elevation		0–1000 m (0–3300 ft)
Distribution	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]	AK; CA; OR; WA; BC [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion		The northern California and southern Oregon populations (Juncus supiniformis in the strict sense) form long filiform leaves before flowering, are shorter, and have smaller flowers than the northern populations. Except for the filiform leaves, the variation in sizes appears to follow a rough latitudinal cline with the largest plants and largest flowers in Alaska. Flowers of Juncus supiniformis often form bulbils. (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. Septati
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. 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. 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. oreganus, J. paucicapitatus
Name authority	Loiseleur-Deslongchamps: J. Bot. (Desvaux) 2: 284. (1809)	Engelmann
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR Local Web sites: Flora NW, Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MN Wildflowers, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Juncus supiniformis

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

hair-leaf rush, hairy-leaf rush, spreading rush

Habit

Herbs, perennial, 2–9 dm.

Herbs, perennial, cespitose or matted, often decumbent, rooting at proximal nodes or floating, 0.3–5 dm.

Rhizomes

long- creeping.

Culms

erect, decumbent and rooting at nodes, or floating, terete, 1–2 mm diam., smooth.

Cataphylls

1–3.

0 or 1–2, straw-colored, apex acute.

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.

basal 1–3, cauline 1–4;

auricles 0.8–2.1 mm, apex rounded to acute, membranaceous;

blade terete, 3.7–15 cm × 0.4–1.3 mm, occasionally with filiform, flaccid, and floating leaves to 60 cm.

Inflorescences

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

primary bract rarely surpassing inflorescence.

terminal racemes of 2–9 heads, 2–10 cm, branches erect;

primary bract erect;

heads 2–12-flowered, obconic or rarely hemispheric, 4–13 mm diam.

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.

tepals light brown or greenish to reddish brown, linear to narrowly lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate-subulate;

outer tepals (2.1–)2.8–4.9 mm;

inner tepals (2.1–)2.8–5.5 mm;

stamens 3 or 6, anthers 1/2–3/4 filament length.

Capsules

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

usually exserted, dark brown, 1-locular, ovoid to oblong, (3.2–)3.5–6.1 mm, apex acute to acuminate proximal to beak, valves separating at dehiscence.

Seeds

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

narrowly obovoid to obovoid, 0.6–0.7 mm, not tailed;

body clear yellow-brown..

= ca. 30, ca. 50–60, 2n = ca. 112.

= ca. 80, 84.

Juncus supiniformis

Phenology

Flowering and fruiting late spring–summer.

Fruiting mid summer–fall.

Habitat

Forming extensive colonies in exposed coastal estuary meadows and salt marshes just above high- tide line, also inland

Pond, lake and river shores, marshes, bogs, and ditches

Elevation

0–1000 m (0–3300 ft)

Distribution

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]

AK; CA; OR; WA; BC

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

The northern California and southern Oregon populations (Juncus supiniformis in the strict sense) form long filiform leaves before flowering, are shorter, and have smaller flowers than the northern populations. Except for the filiform leaves, the variation in sizes appears to follow a rough latitudinal cline with the largest plants and largest flowers in Alaska.

Flowers of Juncus supiniformis often form bulbils.

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

Source

FNA vol. 22.

Parent taxa

Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Poiophylli

Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Septati

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. 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. 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. oreganus, J. paucicapitatus

Name authority

Loiseleur-Deslongchamps: J. Bot. (Desvaux) 2: 284. (1809)

Engelmann

Web links

Local floras: BC, OR
Local Web sites: Flora NW, Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MN Wildflowers, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database
LBJ Wildflower Center
SEINet
Plants of the World Online
Encyclopedia of Life
Wikipedia
Google Image Search

Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA
Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database
LBJ Wildflower Center
SEINet
Plants of the World Online
Encyclopedia of Life
Wikipedia
Google Image Search

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).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

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Flora of North America species comparison

Juncus gerardii

Juncus supiniformis

Juncus gerardii

Juncus supiniformis