JUNCACEAE. 253 



when dry, I -celled; seed nearly as in J. acuminatus. S. 111. to Kans., Okla., La. 

 and Tex. 



40. Juncus diffusissimus Buckley. DIFFUSE RUSH. (I. F. f. 958.) Plant 

 3-6 dm. high. Stems few in a tuft, erect, slender, terete or slightly compressed, 

 2-4-leaved; blades 1-2 dm. long; inflorescence diffusely branched, 1-2 dm. high 

 and broad; heads 3-i2-flowered; perianth 2.5-3.5 mm. long, its parts subulate, 

 equal; capsule linear-lanceolate in outline, 4-5.5 mm. long, with a short tip, 3- 

 sided, light brown, i-celled; seed oblong to obovoid, acute at the base, abruptly 

 tipped, reticulate in about 16 rows. S. Kans. to Miss, and Tex. 



2. JUNCOIDES Adans. 



Perennial plants, with herbage either glabrous or sparingly webbed, stems leaf- 

 bearing, leaf-sheaths with united margins, and leaf-blades grass-like. Inflorescence 

 umbelloid, paniculate, or corymbose, often congested; flowers always bracteolate, 

 the bracttets usually lacerate or denticulate; stamens 6 in our species; ovary 

 i -celled, its 3 ovules with basal insertion; seeds 3, indistinctly reticulate, sometimes 

 carunculate, not distinctly tailed. [Greek, meaning like Juncus.] About 40 

 species, widely distributed, mostly flowering in spring. 



Inflorescence umbelloid, i or 2 flowers on each of its branches. i. /. pilosum. 



Inflorescence theoretically paniculate, the flowers often crowded in spike-like clusters. 

 Outer perianth-parts shorter than the inner ; introduced species. 2. J. nemorosum. 

 Perianth-parts equal or nearly so ; native species. 



Flowers 1-3 together, on the branches of an open panicle. 3. J. parviflorum. 

 Flowers crowded into one or more thick spikes or spike-like clusters. 



Inflorescence nodding. 4. J. spicatum. 



Inflorescence erect or spreading, or its individual branches rarely nodding. 

 Inflorescence of 1-3 spike-like or capitate flower-clusters, or the leaf- 

 blades sharp-pointed. 

 Inflorescence crowded into a single cluster ; leaves flat, usually with 



a blunt apex. 5. J. nivale. 



Inflorescence in 1-4 clusters; leaves narrowed above, involute- 

 channeled, apex very sharp. 6. J. hyperboreum. 

 Inflorescence of 2-12 spike-like or capitate clusters ; leaf-blades with 

 blunt points. 7. J. camptstre. 



1. Juncoides pilosum (L.) Kuntze. HAIRY WOOD-RUSH. (I. F. f. 959.) 

 Tufted, often stoloniferous. Stems erect, 2-4-leaved, 1.5-3 dm. high* leaf- blades 

 3-8 mm. wide, flat, slightly webbed, acuminate into a blunt tip; inflorescence an 

 umbelloid flower-cluster, the filiform pedicels equal or nearly so, i-flowered or 

 sometimes 2-flowered; perianth 2.5-3 mm. long, its parts triangular-ovate, acumi- 

 nate, brown with hyaline margins, about twice as long as the toothed bractlets; 

 capsule about one-fourth exceeding the perianth, its valves ovate, acuminate ; seed 

 provided at the summit with a conspicuous hooked caruncle. N. B. to Alaska, 

 N. Y., Mich, and Ore., and in the Alleghanies to N. Car. Also in Europe 

 and Asia. 



2. Juncoides nemorosum (Poll.) Kuntze. FOREST WOOD- RUSH. (I. F. f. 

 960.) Loosely tufted or somewhat stoloniferous. Stems slender, 3-7 dm. high, 

 i-6-leaved; leaf-blades 3-6 mm. wide, ciliate, flat; inflorescence diffusely panicu- 

 late or corymbose, the few lower bracts foliose; flowers in clusters of 3-8, the 

 bractlets ovate, entire or sparingly denticulate above; perianth about 2.5 mm. in 

 length, its parts ovate- lanceolate, acute, the outer about one -fifth shorter than the 

 inner; capsule ovoid, acuminate, barely equalling the perianth; seed obliquely 

 ovoid, about 1.2 mm. long. A European species, naturalized at Riverdale, M. Y. 



3. Juncoides parviflorum(Ehrh.) Coville. SMALL-FLOWERED WOOD-RUSH. 

 (I. F. f. 961.) Stems single or few in a tuft, stoloniferous, 2.5-7.5 dm. high, 2-5- 

 leaved; leaves glabrous, their blades 3-10 mm. wide; inflorescence a nodding 

 decompound panicle, its lowest bract foliose; flowers borne singly, or sometimes 2 

 or 3 together, on slender pedicels; bractlets ovate, entire or rarely somewhat 

 lacerate; perianth 1.5-2.5 mm. in length, its parts ovate, acuminate, slightly ex- 

 ceeded by the ovoid capsule; seed narrowly oblong, 1-1.5 mm m length. Lab. 

 to Br. CoL, N. H., N. Y. and Minn.; in the mountains to Ariz, and Cal. Also in 

 Europe and Asia. 



