Juncus tenuis |
Juncus polycephalus |
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path rush, poverty or slender rush, poverty rush, slender rush |
flatleaf rush, manyhead rush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, tufted, 1.5–5 dm. | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, 6–10 dm. |
Rhizomes | densely branching. |
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Culms | few–20. |
erect, 3–14 mm diam. |
Cataphylls | absent. |
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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 2–3(–6), cauline 1–4, brownish green; auricles absent; blade 8–70 cm × 4–8 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. |
panicles of 16–82 heads, 10–30 cm; primary bract erect; heads 20–30-flowered, spheric, 8–12 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 green to reddish, lance-subulate, 3–4 mm, nearly equal, apex acuminate; stamens 3, anthers 1/3–1/2 length of filaments. |
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. |
exserted, straw-colored, 1-locular, narrowly ovoid, 4–5 mm, apex tapering to beak, remaining after dehiscence. |
Seeds | tan, ellipsoid to lunate, (0.52–)5.5–0.65(–0.7) mm, not tailed. |
lance-ellipsoid, 0.5–0.6 mm, not tailed. |
2n | = 80. |
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Juncus tenuis |
Juncus polycephalus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Fruiting spring–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) | Wet or seasonally wet shores, depressions, occasionally in fairly deep water of streams, usually with a peaty or mucky substrate, occasionally sandy to gravelly |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 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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AL; FL; GA; LA; MD; MS; NC; SC; TX
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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. Ensifolii |
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. echinatus, J. engelmannii |
Name authority | Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2(1): 214. (1799) | Michaux: Flora Boreali-Americana 1: 192. 1803 (as polycephalos) |
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