FNA: Juncus militaris

	Juncus militaris
	bayonet rush, jointed bog rush
Habit	Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, 3–15 dm.
Rhizomes	3–4 diam., nodes not swollen, smooth. (often developing filiform leaves in running water).
Culms	erect, terete to compressed, 5–12 mm diam.
Cataphylls	1–3, straw-colored to pink, apex acute.
Leaves	basal 0, cauline 2, long capillary leaves often found in fascicles on rhizomes; auricles 0.3–0.5 mm, apex rounded, scarious; blade terete, 50–70(–100) cm × 2–5 mm, those of proximal leaves usually overtopping inflorescences, distal leaves usually inflated bladeless sheaths, occasionally absent or withll well-developed blades.
Inflorescences	terminal panicles of 20–100 heads, 4–15 cm, branches erect to ascending; primary bract erect; heads (3–)5–13(–25)-flowered, hemispheric to turbinate, 6–8 mm diam.
Flowers	tepals straw-colored or reddish, lanceolate, 2.3–3.2(–4) mm, nearly equal, apex acuminate to awned; stamens 6, anthers 1.5–2 times filament length.
Capsules	straw-colored, 1-locular, ovoid, 2.3–3.3 mm, equaling perianth, tapering to subulate tip, valves separating at dehiscence.
Seeds	obovoid, 0.5–0.6 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown.

	Juncus militaris
Phenology	Fruiting late summer–fall.
Habitat	Mucky bottoms of shallow lakes and rivers, wet shores
Elevation	0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution	CT; DE; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; NH; NJ; NY; PA; RI; VT; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; SPM [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	The proximal culm leaf of Juncus militaris usually has a single well-developed leaf blade that overtops the inflorescence; and the distal leaf usually is an inflated bladeless sheath above it. An Alabama report, based on a single specimen collected by Drummond (not seen), at GH and MO, was discounted by Coville (and here). Coville believed the location and possibly the collector were wrongly attributed to this collection (see letter from Coville to Small at NY). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa	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. 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. 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
Name authority	Bigelow: Flora Bostoniensis, 2nd Ed. 139. (1824)
Web links	Local Web sites: Go Botany, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Juncus militaris

bayonet rush, jointed bog rush

Habit

Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, 3–15 dm.

Rhizomes

3–4 diam., nodes not swollen, smooth. (often developing filiform leaves in running water).

Culms

erect, terete to compressed, 5–12 mm diam.

Cataphylls

1–3, straw-colored to pink, apex acute.

Leaves

basal 0, cauline 2, long capillary leaves often found in fascicles on rhizomes;

auricles 0.3–0.5 mm, apex rounded, scarious;

blade terete, 50–70(–100) cm × 2–5 mm, those of proximal leaves usually overtopping inflorescences, distal leaves usually inflated bladeless sheaths, occasionally absent or withll well-developed blades.

Inflorescences

terminal panicles of 20–100 heads, 4–15 cm, branches erect to ascending;

primary bract erect;

heads (3–)5–13(–25)-flowered, hemispheric to turbinate, 6–8 mm diam.

Flowers

tepals straw-colored or reddish, lanceolate, 2.3–3.2(–4) mm, nearly equal, apex acuminate to awned;

stamens 6, anthers 1.5–2 times filament length.

Capsules

straw-colored, 1-locular, ovoid, 2.3–3.3 mm, equaling perianth, tapering to subulate tip, valves separating at dehiscence.

Seeds

obovoid, 0.5–0.6 mm, not tailed;

body clear yellow-brown.

Juncus militaris

Phenology

Fruiting late summer–fall.

Habitat

Mucky bottoms of shallow lakes and rivers, wet shores

Elevation

0–500 m (0–1600 ft)

Distribution

CT; DE; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; NH; NJ; NY; PA; RI; VT; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; SPM

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

The proximal culm leaf of Juncus militaris usually has a single well-developed leaf blade that overtops the inflorescence; and the distal leaf usually is an inflated bladeless sheath above it. An Alabama report, based on a single specimen collected by Drummond (not seen), at GH and MO, was discounted by Coville (and here). Coville believed the location and possibly the collector were wrongly attributed to this collection (see letter from Coville to Small at NY).

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

Source

FNA vol. 22.

Parent taxa

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. 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. 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

Name authority

Bigelow: Flora Bostoniensis, 2nd Ed. 139. (1824)

Web links

Local Web sites: Go Botany, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora
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).

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Juncus militaris

Juncus militaris