Juncus tenuis |
Juncus castaneus |
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path rush, poverty or slender rush, poverty rush, slender rush |
chestnut rush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, tufted, 1.5–5 dm. | Herbs, perennial, strongly rhizomatous, 1–4 dm. |
Rhizomes | densely branching. |
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Culms | few–20. |
solitary, 1–2 mm diam. |
Cataphylls | 1–2. |
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Leaves | basal, (1–)2–3; auricles 2–5 mm, apex acute, membranous; blade flat, 3–12 cm × 0.5–1 mm, margins entire. |
partially cauline, 3–5, auricles absent distally, rounded proximally; blade channeled, to 20 cm, reduced distally. |
Inflorescences | 5–40-flowered, borne congested or branch internodes ca. as long as tepals, ssomewhat loose, 1–5 cm; primary bract usually longer than inflorescence. |
glomerules, 1–3(–5), each with 2–10 flowers; peduncles 0.4–1.5 cm; primary bracts somewhat inflated, usually surpassing inflorescence. |
Flowers | bracteoles 2; tepals greenish, lanceolate, 3.3–4.4 mm; outer and inner series nearly equal; stamens 6, filaments 0.5–0.9 mm, anthers 0.1–0.2 mm; style 0.1–0.2 mm. |
bracteoles absent; tepals brown or occasionally paler, lanceolate, 4.5–6.6 mm, apex acute to obtuse; inner series slightly shorter; stamens 6, filaments 2.5–3.5 mm, anthers 0.6–1.3 mm; style 1–1.3 mm. |
Capsules | tan or light brown, 1-locular to pseudo-3-locular, ellipsoid, (3.3–)3.8–4.7 × (1.1–)1.3–1.7 mm, nearly equal to tepals. |
chestnut brown, 3-locular, narrowly oblong, 6.5–8.5 × 1.8–2.3 mm. |
Seeds | tan, ellipsoid to lunate, (0.52–)5.5–0.65(–0.7) mm, not tailed. |
pale yellow, fusiform, body 0.6–0.7 mm, tails 0.8–1.1 mm. |
2n | = 80. |
= 60, 90, 120. |
Juncus tenuis |
Juncus castaneus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Flowering and fruiting late spring–summer. |
Habitat | Exposed or shaded sites in soils ranging from sandy to clayey under moist or drier conditions, oftentimes these sites naturally or otherwise disturbed (e.g., game or human trails) | Tundra, subalpine and alpine bogs and meadows, and along streams in gravelly or clayey soils |
Elevation | 10–3700 m (0–12100 ft) | |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK [Introduced worldwide]
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AK; CO; MT; NM; NV; UT; WY; AB; BC; LB; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Europe; Asia |
Discussion | Juncus tenuis occurs throughout North America. It is particularly abundant in northeastern United States and eastern Canada, although infrequent in the south and west. Through the use of isozyme electrophoresis, hybridization can be demonstrated between various members of the Juncus tenuis complex, including Juncus tenuis, J. anthelatus, J. interior, J. secundus, and J. dichotomus (R. E. Brooks, unpubl.). Juncus ××oronensis is thought to be a hybrid between J. tenuis and J. vaseyi in the northeast. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
In southern Alaska some plants with several many-flowered heads and capsules about double the length of the perianth have been referred to the Asian Juncus castaneus subsp. leucochlamys. The distinction, however, seems dubious without further investigation. (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. Alpini |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | J. bicornis, J. bicornis var. williamsii, J. macer, J. macer, J. macer var. williamsii, J. tenuis var. bicornis, J. tenuis var. multicornis, J. tenuis var. williamsii | J. castaneus var. pallidus, J. castaneus subsp. leucochlamys, J. leucochlamys |
Name authority | Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2(1): 214. (1799) | Smith: Fl. Brit. 1: 383. (1800) |
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