256 JUNCACEAE 



bract erect, appearing like a continuation of the scape, 5-25 cm. long: perianth 2-3 mm. 

 long: sepals and petals lanceolate, acuminate: stamens 3; anthers shorter than the filaments: 

 capsules obovoid or oblong-obovoid, about as long as the perianth, 3-celled, regularh- dehiscent. 

 In swamps and low grounds, nearly through the United States and southern British Ameiica. Also 

 in Evirope and Asia.. Spring to fall. 



2. Juncus gymnocarpus Coville. Plants 3-8 dm. high. Scapes arising at intervals 

 from a proliferous rootstock about 3 mm. thick: leaf-sheaths basal, bladeless: inflorescence 

 appearing lateral, 15-30 mm. high, spreading, its bract 1-2.5 dm. long: flowers perfect: 

 perianth rather less than 2 mm. long: sepals and petals nearly equal, ovate or ovate-lanceolate: 

 sepals apiculate, with firmer bodies than the obtuse petals: stamens 6, nearly as long as 

 the perianth; anthers shorter than the filaments: capsules ovoid, 2-2.5 mm. long, about 

 twice as long as the perianth, prominently apiculate, shining, barely dehiscent. 



In swamps, eastern Pennsylvania and northern Florida. Spring and summer. 



3. Juncus Roemerianus Scheele. Plants 5-12 dm. high. Scapes arising from scaly 

 horizontal rootstocks 5-10 mm. thick: leaf-sheaths basal, bearing erect blades resenrbling 

 the stem and of about the same length: inflorescence appearing lateral, 6-15 cin. high, 

 diffuse, its bract 10-25 cm. long: flowers usually dioecious: heads 2-6-flowered : perianth 

 2-3.5 mm. long: sepals linear-oblong, acuminate: petals shorter and blunt pointed : stamens 

 6, or in pistillate plants reduced to staminodia: capsules brown, 3-celled, about as long as 

 the perianth, narrowly obovoid, obtuse or truncate, mucronate: placenta thick and spongy, 

 about 5 as broad as the valve. 



In blackish marshes. New .Jersey to Florida and Texas. Spring. 



4. Juncus bufonius L. Plants branching from the base, seldom over 20 cm. high- 



Stems in robust plants with 1-2 leaves: leaf-blades 0.2-1 mm. wide, in larger plants flat, 



in depauperate ones filiform-involute: inflorescence about 5 the height of the plant: flowers 



inserted singly on its branches: sepals and petals 4-7 mm. long, lanceolate, acuminate: 



stamens usually 6, seldom 5 as long as the perianth; anthers shorter than the filaments: 



capsules 3-celled, about | as long as the perianth, narrowly oblong, obtuse, mucronate: 



seeds broadly oblong with straight apiculations, 0.35-0.5 mm. long, finelj' reticulated in 



30-40 longitudinal rows, the areolae broader than long. 



About dried-up pools and on roadsides, throughout North America, except the extreme north. Also 

 cosmopolitan. Spring and summer. 



5. Juncus trifidus L. Plants densely tufted, 1-3 dm. high. Stems closely set on stout 



rootstocks, about 0.5 mm. thick: basal leaves reduced to almost bladeless sheaths, the 



uppermost with a rudimentary blade and fimbriate auricles; stem-leaf solitary, just below 



the inflorescence, with a narrower flat or involute blade: inflorescence a cluster of 1-3 flowers, 



the lowest bract resembling the upper leaf, the succeeding one much smaller or ob.solete: 



perianth dark brown, 2.5-3 mm. long: stamens 6; anthers about as long as the filaments: 



cap.sules leathery, about as long as the perianth, obovoid, with a mucronate-aristate top: 



seeds few, narrowly obovoid, irregularly angled, minutely striate. 



In sterile or stony soil, Greenland and Labrador, to the higher mountains of New England, New 

 York and North Carolina. Also in northern Europe and Asia. Summer. 



6. Juncus Gerardi Lois. Plants copiously tufted, 2-6 dm. high, from horizontal root- 

 stocks. Stems not bulbous-thickened at the base: basal leaves with loosely clasping auricu- 

 late sheaths, the blades mostly 1-2 dm. long, less than 2 mm. wide, flat or involute in drying; 

 stem-leaves 1 or 2, similar to the basal, but with shorter blades: inflorescence paniculate, 

 often overtopped by the lowest bract: panicle erect: perianth about 2 mm. long: sepals 

 and petals oblong, obtuse, with green midribs and dark brown margins, or straw-colored 

 in age: stamens 6, barely exceeded by the perianth; anthers much longer than the filaments: 

 capsules j-5 longer than the perianth, obovoid, 3-celled, mucronate, dark brown, shining. 



On salt meadows. Gulf of St. Lawrence to Virginia, and Florida (according to Engelmann), and 

 about the Great Lakes. Also in Europe. Spring and summer. 



7. Juncus secundus Beauv. Plants tufted, 1-4 dm. high. Leaves basal, usually less 

 than I the height of the plant: inflorescence longer than its lowest bract, or only slightly 

 exceeded by it, 3-8 cm. high: flowers secund on the strongly ascending and usually some- 

 what incurved branches: perianth 2.5-3.5 mm. long: sepals and petals lanceolate or broadly 

 lanceolate, acute, equalling or barely exceeding the capsule and appressed to it for about 

 f their length: stamens 6, about 5 as long as the perianth; anthers slightly longer than the 

 filaments: capsule oval, 3-sided above the middle, with straight sides and a truncate apex, 

 completely 3-celled: seeds narrowly oblong to ovoid, obliquely tipped, 0.28-0.37 mm. long. 



In dry or sandy soil, Mas.sachusetts and Pennsylvania to North Carohna. Spring and summer. 



8. Juncus interior Wiegand. Plants 5-10 dm. high, light gieen. Leaves basal, 

 several; blades about ^ the length of the scape, 1-1.25 mm. wide, sometimes involute: 

 scapes grooved: inflorescence 3-10 cm. long, many-flowered, the branches ascending: 

 flowers scattered, rather distant: perianth straw-colored, 3-4 mm. long: sepals and petals 



