35i^ 



JUNCACEAE 



18. Juncus occidentalis (Coville) Wiegand. 



Western Rush. 



Fig. 



872. 



J/-- -■;■-, 1 1 



Juncus tenuis congcstus Engelm. Trans. St. Louis Acad. 2: 450. 1866. 



Juncus tenuis occidentalis Coville, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 10: 129. 

 1896. 



Juncus occidentalis Wiegand, Bull. Torrey Club 27: 521. 1900. 



Stems sparingly tufted, stiff, erect, 3-6 dm. high, finely 

 striate. Leaves densely tufted at the hase, one-third to one- 

 half the length of the stems; blades flat and flexuous, 1-1. .S 

 mm. wide ; sheaths loose and expanded, the auricles short, 

 scarious ; panicle open, many-flowered or congested. 1.5-3 cm. 

 long, fuscous; bract 1, leaf-like, exceeding the panicle; perianth 

 4-5 mm. long ; the segments erect or slightly spreading, lanceo- 

 late-subulate, fuscous with green midrib and brown scarious 

 margin extending to the apex ; stamens half the length of the 

 perianth, anthers much shorter than the filaments : capsule 

 oblong-oval, obtuse, becoming retuse when mature, three- 

 fourths the length of the perianth, 1-celled, the placentae ex- 

 tending only half way to the middle ; seed apiculate, areolate, 

 reticulate, not striate. 



Open moist grassy places, Transition and Upper Sonoran Zones; 

 Multnomah County, Oregon, through the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada 

 to central California. Type locality: San Francisco, California. 



19. Juncus tenuis Willd. 

 Slender Rush. Fig. S73. 



Juncus tenuis Willd. Sp. PL 2: 214. 1799. 



Stems tufted, bright green, 2-6 dm. high, usually 

 spreading, finely striate. Leaves one-half to nearly 

 as long as the stem ; blades flat, about 1 mm. wide, 

 rarely slightly involute ; sheaths short, loose and often 

 expanded, their auricles scarious, large, often extend- 

 ing 15 mm. beyond the insertion of the blade; panicle 

 often 1-7 cm. long, many-flowered, pale green; bracts 

 2 or 3, leaf-like, much exceeding the panicle; perianth 

 3-4.5 mm. long ; segments lanceolate, very acute, green 

 with white scarious margins, conspicuously spreading ; 

 stamens half the length of the perianth ; anthers much 

 shorter than the filament ; capsule thin-walled, broadly 

 ovoid, obscurely triangular above, 1-celled, the placentae 

 not extending half way to the axis; seeds with trans- 

 versely oblong reticulations. 



Open grassy places. Boreal and Austral regions; Washing- 

 ton and Idaho to Newfoundland, south to Oregon. Arkansas, 

 and Florida. In the Pacific States it is much less common but 

 occurs on both sides of the Cascade Mountains, in Washington. 

 Type locality: Nortli America, locality not designated. 



20. Juncus orthophyllus Coville. 

 Straight-leaved Rush. Fig. 874. 



Trans. St. Louis Acad. 



Juncus longistvlis latifolius Engelm. 



496. 1868." 

 Juncus latifolius Buch. in Engler Bot. Tahrb. 18: 425. 1890, not 



Wulf, 1789. 

 Juncus orthophyllus Coville, Contr. Nat. Herb. 4: 207. 1893. 



Stems arising from creeping rootstocks, 2-4 dm. high, 

 compressed, 1-1.5 mm. thick, pale green. Basal leaves 

 grass-like, one-third to nearly as long as the stem, 3-5 mm. 

 broad, many-nerved, usually spreading, without auricles ; 

 stem leaves none, or sometimes 1 (rarely 2) above the 

 middle, 2-5 cm. long; inflorescence commonly of 2 (rarely 

 1) heads, these usually 8-10 flowered; perianth 6 mm. long; 

 segments with a green midrib bordered by brown, and with 

 a scarious fuscous margin, minutely roughened on the 

 back, the inner distinctly longer than the outer, stamens 

 about two-thirds the length of the perianth ; anthers longer 

 than the filaments ; capsule oblong-ovoid, obtuse, mucronate, 

 scarcely equalling the perianth ; seeds oblique, obovate, 

 shortly apiculate. 



Mountain meadows. Arid Transition and Canadian Zones; Cascade 

 Mountains, Washington to San Bernardino Mountains, California, 

 also Utah. Type locality : Alpine meadows, Yosemite Valley, Cali- 

 fornia. 



