that on the lower end shorter and stouter. /. caudatus Chapm. 



Rare in seeps and bogs on sandy soil, e. Tex. (Henderson, Jasper and Tyler 

 COS.), Sept. -Nov.; Coastal States, S.C. to Tex. 



28. Juncus castaneus Smith. 



Perennial plants; stems 10-40 cm. tall, terete, leaves mostly basal; leaves taper- 

 ing from an involute tubular base to a slender channeled apex, the general effect 

 being terete, the upper epidermis being membranous, 1-2 mm. thick; sheaths not 

 auriculate; lowest bract usually exceeding the inflorescence; inflorescence of 1 to 

 3 heads, few-flowered, no bractlets present; segments of perianth 4-7 mm. long, 

 lanceolate, acute, chestnut-brown, petals somewhat shorter and often almost 

 obtuse; stamens 6; capsule one and a half to two times as long as perianth, 

 brown, tapering to an acute apex, narrowly oblong; seeds long-caudate. 



In wet meadows and seepage areas in N.M. (Taos and Rio Arriba cos.); Greenl. 

 to Alas., s. to N.M.; Euras. 



29. Juncus albescens (Lange) Fern. 



Plants perennial; stems 5-15 cm. tall, loosely tufted from branching rootstocks, 

 erect, terete; leaves 1-7 cm. long, 1 to 5 in number, terete; sheaths auriculate; 

 inflorescence a capitate cluster of 1 to 5 (mostly 3) flowers; bracts almost as long 

 as the flowers, the lower acuminate; perianth 3-4 mm. long, brown, segments 

 ovate-lanceolate or oblong-Ianceolate, nearly or quite obtuse, about equal; stamens 

 6; capsule equaling or slightly exceeding the perianth, obtuse or mucronate, 3- 

 angled, imperfectly 3-celled; seeds about 2 mm. long, caudate. 



In wet meadows and seepage areas, in N.M. (Taos Co.); Greenl. to Alas., s. to 

 N.Y. and N.M. 



30. Juncus Torreyi Cov. Fig. 324. 



Perennial with slender elongate rhizomes bearing tuberlike enlargements; flower- 

 ing culms colonial, erect, 3-10 dm. long, 2-4 mm. thick near the middle; blades 

 terete, ascending, with complete septa; inflorescence terminal, usually far- 

 surpassed by the subtending terete bract, 2-5 (-10) cm. long, of 5 to 10 (to 17) 

 heads which are mostly closely crowded, 8-15 mm. thick, 25- to 50-flowered; bract- 

 let solitary at base of pedicel; sepals lanceolate, stramineous, 4-5 mm. long, with 

 semirigid brownish subulate tips; petals similar to sepals but shorter; anthers 6, 

 shorter than their filaments; capsule at maturity brownish, linear-subulate, trigo- 

 nous, equaling or slightly surpassing the sepals, wholly dehiscent; seeds not tailed. 



Marshy margins of lakes, ponds and streams, wet meadows, ditches and seepage 

 areas in Okla. (Cimarron, Grady, Alfalfa, Osage, Logan and Stephens cos.), N. M. 

 (widespread) and Ariz. (Navajo to Mohave, s. to Pima and Yuma cos.), abundant 

 in the Tex. Trans-Pecos and Plains Country, less frequent in Edwards Plateau and 

 n.-cen. Tex., rare in e. Tex., summer; N.Y. to Sask. and Wash., s. to D.C., Ala., 

 Miss., Coah. and Calif. 



31 Juncus articulatus L. Jointed rush. Fig. 325. 



Stems erect or spreading from short rootstocks, 2-6 dm. tall; stem leaves with, 

 rather loose sheaths and strongly septate terete blades 5-10 cm. long; inflorescence 

 3-10 cm. high, loose, the branches stiffly spreading; heads hemispheric to top- 

 shaped, 3- to 12-flowered; perianth 2-3 mm. long, the segments nearly equal in 

 size, lanceolate, acuminate, reddish brown with a greenish midrib; stamens 6, 

 one half to three fourths as long as the perianth, the anthers shorter than the 

 filaments; capsule dark brown, shining, longer than the perianth, 3-angled, ovate, 

 sharply acute, tapering to a conspicuous tip; seeds reticulate. 



In marshes, saline flats and edge of water of streams, in N.M. (Rio Arriba and 

 San Juan cos.) and Ariz. (Yavapai and Maricopa cos.); Nfld. to B.C., s. to N.E., 



631 



