margins; inflorescence of 2 to 8 heads, each 3- to 8- (rarely less) flowered; perianth 

 5-6 mm. long, segments greenish or light brown in center, brown on the sides 

 and with broad hyaline margins, lanceolate, acuminate; flowers not bracteolate; 

 stamens 6; capsule 3-celled, oblong, from somewhat shorter to somewhat longer 

 than the perianth, mucronate; seeds oblong, apiculate. 



In wet meadows, seepage areas and wet soils generally, in N.M. (San Miguel, 

 Union, Taos, Colfax, Sandoval and Otero cos.) and Ariz. (Apache, Navajo, Coco- 

 nino, Yavapai, Greenlee, Graham, Santa Cruz and Gila cos.), spring-summer; 

 Alta. to B.C., s. to N.M. and Calif. 



Var. scabratus Herm. with vegetation strongly scabrous and the auricles tending 

 to be prolonged, free and acute, is the common plant in Arizona. 



21. Juncus macrophyllus Coville. 



Stems erect, 3-9 dm. high, rather stiff", compressed; basal leaves equaling or 

 about half the length of the stems; sheath scarious-margined and more or less 

 distinctly auriculate; blades flat but rather thick and firm, 1.5-4 mm. wide, 

 striate, long attenuate and pungent; stem leaves 1 to 3, their blades mostly 8-15 

 cm. long; inflorescence loosely paniculate; heads usually 12 to 25, 3- to 5-flowered; 

 perianth green tinged with light brown, .5-6 mm. long, the segments ovate, acute 

 or obtuse, hyaline-margined, the outer distinctly shorter than the inner; stamens 6, 

 half the length of the segments; anthers reddish-brown, much longer than the fila- 

 ments; capsule shorter than the perianth, tapering at the apex into a short beak; 

 seeds 0.5 mm. long, obliquely obovate, about 30-ribbed, the reticulations lineolate. 



Dry hillsides, wet soils and marshes, in Ariz. (Yavapai, Maricopa and Pinal 

 COS.); also Baja Calif. 



22. Juncus ensifolius Wiks. Three-stemmed rush. Fig. 320. 



Stems from slender rootstocks, 2-5 dm. tall, compressed; leaves distinctly equi- 

 tant, 2-5 mm. wide, incompletely septate, the upper ones often nearly equaling 

 the inflorescence in height; heads 1- to 3-glomerate, densely flowered, dark-reddish 

 brown; perianth 2.5-3.5 mm. long, the segments nearly equal in size, lanceolate, 

 acuminate; stamens 3, Vi-V^ as long as the perianth, the filaments longer than 

 the anthers; capsule dark-reddish-brown, longer than the perianth, oblong, obtuse 

 or shortly acute at the summit with a short mucro; seeds sharply reticulate. 



Wet ground, commonly near the coast, inland to Ariz. {Kearney & Peebles); 

 Sask. to Alas., s. to Ariz, and Calif. 



It is frequently confused with /. xiphioides, but the few, densely flowered, glo- 

 merate, and dark-colored heads distinguish it from that species. 



23. Juncus xiphioides E. Mey. Fig. 321. 



Stems compressed, acutely 2-edged, 4-8 dm. tall, from stout, creeping root- 

 stocks; leaves flattened laterally, the sheaths without auricles, the blades 3-12 mm. 

 wide, more or less distinctly ribbed by transverse septa; inflorescence variable, 

 commonly of numerous heads in a loose or compact compound panicle, but 

 sometimes with a few relatively large heads; perianth brownish or reddish-tinged, 

 2.5-3 mm. long, the segments lanceolate, acuminate (prominently subulate in 

 immature plants); stamens 3 or 6, one half (or sometimes more) as long as the 

 perianth, the anthers shorter than or of about the same length as the filaments; 

 style usually included; capsule oblong, shortly acute or slightly tapering below the 

 mucronation, as long as to slightly longer than the perianth; seeds reticulate. 



Streams, meadows and marshes, in N. M. (Catron Co.) and Ariz. (Coconino, 

 Gila, Mohave, Pima, Yavapai, Maricopa and Santa Cruz cos.); also Calif, and 

 Baja Calif. 



627 



