RUSH FAMILY 



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3. Juncus effusus L. 



Common Rush, Bog Rush, Soft Rush. Fig. 857. 



Jiincus effusus L. Sp. PI. 326. 1753. 



Stems densely tufted, from stout branching prolif- 

 erous rootstocks, 5-15 dm. high, soft. Basal leaf- 

 blades reduced to short tiliform rudiments; inflor- 

 scence many-flowered, 2.5-10 cm. long; lowest leaf 

 of the inflorescence appearing as a prolongation of 

 the stem, 5-20 cm. long; perianth 2-3 mm. long, 

 green, lanceolate, acuminate ; stamens 3, the anthers 

 shorter than the filaments; capsule obovoid. 3-celled, 

 muticous, regularly dehiscent; seeds reticulate in 

 about 16 longitudinal rows, the reticulations smooth, 

 two or three times broader than long. 



In swamps and moist places, Canadian to Upper Sonoran 

 Zones; nearly throughout North America, also m Europe 

 and Asia. Common throughout the Pacific States except the 

 desert areas. Type locality : Europe. 



Juncus effusus briinneus Engelm. Trans. St. Louis Acad. 2: 

 491. 1S68. (Jiiin-us effusus hcspcrius Piper). Distinguished 

 from the typical form bv the usually more compact panicle 

 and dark brown perianth and capsule. This is the conimon 

 form along the coast, extending from British Columbia to 

 southern California. 



4. Juncus patens Meyer. 

 Spreading Rush. Fig. 858. 



Juncus patens Meyer, Syn. Luzul. 28. 1823. 



Stems more or less tufted, from stout 

 branching rootstocks, 5-8 dm. high, 1.5-3 

 mm. thick above the leaf-sheaths. Basal 

 leaf-sheaths with or without filiform rudi- 

 ments of blades, the uppermost narrowed 

 above, and often separating from the stem, 

 thus suggesting blades in dried specimens ; 

 inflorescence open or somewhat compact, 

 usually many-flowered, 2.5-7 cm. long ; lowest 

 leaf of the inflorescence appearing as a 

 continuation of the stem. 2-15 cm. long; 

 perianth pale or brownish, the segments 

 lanceolate, acuminate, 3 mm. long ; stamens 

 6. the anthers shorter than the filaments ; 

 capsule subglobose, shorter than the seg- 

 ments and widely spreading them, slightly 

 3-angled, very obtuse and apiculate at_ apex ; 

 seeds obliquely oblong, obscurely and irregu- 

 larly reticulate. 



Along streams and on moist hillsides. Transition 

 and Upper Sonoran Zones; Rogue River region, 

 southern Oregon, south in the Coast Ranges to Los 

 Angeles County, California. Type locality : Monte- 

 rey, California. 



5. Juncus filiformis L. 

 Thread Rush. Fig. 859. 



Juncus filiformis L. Sp. PI. 326. 1753. 



Stems arising from creeping rootstocks, 1-6 cm. 

 high, 1 mm. thick. Basal leaf-sheaths with the blades 

 reduced to very short filiform rudiments ; lowest leaf 

 of inflorescence appearing as a continuation of the 

 stem and usually as long or longer ; inflorescence 15-25 

 mm. long, open, commonly about 8-flowered, rarely 

 over 20-flowered ; perianth 2.5-3.5 mm. long ; segments 

 narrowly lanceolate, acute or the inner obtuse, green 

 with hyaline margins ; stamens 6, about half as long as 

 the perianth ; anthers shorter than the filaments ; cap- 

 sule obovoid, green, barely pointed, about three-fourths 

 as long as the perianth, 3-celled ; seed obliquely oblong 

 pointed at either end, with an irregularly wrinkled coat, 

 seldom reticulate. 



Moist ground, borders of lakes and streams, Canadian Zone; 

 Alaska to Labrador, south to northern Oregon, Idaho, Utah, 

 and Pennsylvania, also in Europe and Asia. Type locality : 

 Evirope. 



