Juncus tenuis |
Juncus chlorocephalus |
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path rush, poverty or slender rush, poverty rush, slender rush |
green head rush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, tufted, 1.5–5 dm. | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, 2–4.5 dm. |
Rhizomes | densely branching. |
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Culms | few–20. |
erect, terete, 1–3 mm diam., smooth. |
Cataphylls | 1, straw-colored or maroon, apex acute. |
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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. |
basal 1–2, cauline 2–3; auricles 2–3.5 mm, apex rounded, scarious; blade terete, 2–16 cm × 1–2 mm. |
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. |
single heads (rarely cluster of 2–3 heads), 0.5–2 cm; primary bract erect; heads 15–25-flowered, spheric, 11–14 mm diam. |
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. |
tepals light green to light pink or white, lanceolate, 3.1–4.2 mm, apex obtuse; stamens 6, anthers 2–3 times filament length. |
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. |
included, straw-colored, 1-locular, broadly obovoid to ovoid, 2.2–2.5 mm, apex obtuse, valves separating at dehiscence, fertile throughout or only proximal to middle. |
Seeds | tan, ellipsoid to lunate, (0.52–)5.5–0.65(–0.7) mm, not tailed. |
oblong, 0.5 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown. |
2n | = 80. |
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Juncus tenuis |
Juncus chlorocephalus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Fruiting mid summer–fall. |
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) | Sandbars, meadows, damp soil in rock outcrops, and talus |
Elevation | 1400–3000 m (4600–9800 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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CA; NV
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Poiophylli | Juncaceae > Juncus > subg. Septati |
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 | |
Name authority | Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2(1): 214. (1799) | Engelmann |
Web links |
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