356 



JUNCACEAE 



12. Juncus bufonius L. Common Toad Rush. 



Eig. 



866. 



Juncus bufonius L. Sp. PI. 328. 1753. 



Ju)icus kelloggii Engelm. Trans. St. Louis Acad. 2: 494. 



1866. 

 Juncus congdoni S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 22: 480. 1887. 



Annual, branching from the base, the stems 

 erect, seldom exceeding 20 cm. in height. Leaves 

 1-3 on the stem below the inflorescence, the blade 

 flat, 1 mm. wide or in small plants narrower and 

 involute ; inflorescence about half as high as the 

 plants, with blade-bearing leaves at the lower nodes ; 

 flowers inserted singly on the branches, in one form 

 fasciculate ; perianth 4—5 mm. long, pale brown and 

 scarious-margined ; segments lanceolate, acuminate, 

 the outer usually a little longer ; stamens usually 6, 

 rarely 3, seldom half as long as the segments ; 

 anthers shorter than the filaments ; capsule oblong, 

 obtuse, mucronate 3-celled, shorter than the seg- 

 ments ; seeds broadly oblong, minutely reticulate 

 with 30-40 longitudinal rows. 



Dried I'.p pools, border of streams; a cosmopolitan species 

 occurring throughout North America, except the extreme 

 north. The form with fasciculate flowers has been segregated 

 as variety Italoplulus Fern. & Buch. Type locality: Europe. 



13. Juncus sphaerocarpus Nees. 



Rotind-fniited Toad Rush. Eig". 867. 



Juncus spliacrocarpus Nees; Funk, Flora 1: 521. 1818. 



Annual, branching from the base, 5-20 cm. high, the 

 branches very slender. Leaves 1-3 below the inflor- 

 escence; their blades flat or involute, about 1 mm. wide, 

 often 5 cm. long; inflorescence usually over half the 

 length of the stem ; flowers inserted singly on the 

 branches ; perianth 3-4 mm. long, pale green and scari- 

 ous margined ; segments lanceolate acuminate, spread- 

 ing in fruit ; stamens 6 ; anthers shorter than the fila- 

 ments ; capsule subglobose to broadly ovoid, obtuse 

 3-ceIled, green, two-thirds as long as the segments ; 

 seeds oblong, minutelv reticulate with 30-40 rows. 



Borders of pools and streams. Transition and Sonoran 

 Zones; Idaho and Oregon to southern California and Arizona. 

 Also in Asia, North .Africa, and southern Europe. Type locality: 

 Europe. 



14. Juncus gerardi Lois. 



Black-grass Rush. 



Eig. 868. 



Jiinch 



crardi Lois. Journ. de B'ot. 2: 284. 1809. 



Stems tufted from creeping rootstocks 2-A dm. 

 high. Basal leaf-sheaths loosely clasping, auriculate, 

 their blades flat ; stem leaves usually present, 1 or 2, 

 similar to the basal ; lowest leaf of the inflorescence 

 often exceeding the panicle ; panicle erect, strict or 

 slightly spreading, 3-5 cm. high; perianth 2-3 mm. long, 

 the segments oblong, obtuse, with green midrib and 

 broad dark brown margins, straw-colored in age ; 

 stamens 6, nearly as long as the perianth ; anthers much 

 longer than the filaments ; capsule one-fourth to one- 

 half longer than the perianth, obovoid, mucronate, dark 

 brown, shining, 3-celled; seeds dark brown, obovate, 

 acute at base, obtuse and often depressed at summit, 

 marked by 12-16 conspicuous ribs, the intervening spaces 

 cross lined. 



In salt marshes, Canadian and Transition Zones; Vancouver 

 Island and adjacent mainland. Common on the Atlantic Coast. 

 Type locality: France. 



