Juncus tenuis |
Juncus texanus |
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path rush, poverty or slender rush, poverty rush, slender rush |
Texas rush |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, tufted, 1.5–5 dm. | Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, 2.5–6 dm. |
Rhizomes | densely branching. |
1 mm diam., with swollen nodes. |
Culms | few–20. |
erect, terete, 1–3 mm diam., smooth. |
Cataphylls | 0 or 1–2, straw-colored, apex rounded. |
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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 0–1, cauline 3–5, auricles 1.5–2.5 mm, apex rounded to acutae, scarious; blade straw-colored to green, terete, 5.5–20 cm × 1–2.5 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. |
terminal panicles of 2–16 heads, 2.5–6 cm, branches ascending, spreading, or reflexed; primary bract erect to spreading; heads 10–40-flowered, spheric, 11–15 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 or straw-colored to reddish brown, lance-subulate, apex acuminate; outer tepals (3.5–)4–4.9 mm; inner tepals 3.9–5.4 mm; 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. |
exserted, chestnut brown, 1-locular, lance-subulate, 5.2–6.5(–8) mm, apex tapering, 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. |
obovoid, 0.45–0.5 mm, not tailed; body clear yellow-brown. |
2n | = 80. |
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Juncus tenuis |
Juncus texanus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Fruiting 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) | Swamps, depressions, seeps, sand or gravel bars, and wet mud |
Elevation | 400–600 m (1300–2000 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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LA; OK; TX |
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 | J. nodosus var. texanus |
Name authority | Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2(1): 214. (1799) | (Engelmann) Coville: in J. K. Small, Flora of the Southeastern United States 259. (1903) |
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