482 



JUNCACEAE. 



VOL. I. 



46. Juncus nodatus Coville. Stout Rush. 

 Fig. 121 1. 



Juncus acuminatus var. robustus Engelm. Trans. St. 



Louis Acad. 2: 463. 1868. 

 Juncus robustus Coville in Britton & Brown. 111. Fl. 



i : 395. 1896. Not S. Wats. 



Plant about 3 high. Stems stout, commonly 

 ii"-2" thick below, i-2-leaved ; blades erect, 

 terete, conspicuously many-septate, 8'-2 long, 

 i"-ij" thick, usually reaching or exceeding the 

 inflorescence; inflorescence 4'-io' high, with in- 

 numerable (commonly 300-500) heads, the blade 

 of its lowest leaf sometimes half as long as the 

 inflorescence; heads 2-io-flowered; perianth i"~ 

 i" long, its parts nearly equal, lanceolate-subu- 

 late; stamens 3, one-half to two-thirds as long 

 as the perianth ; capsule equalling or one-third 

 exceeding the perianth, straw-colored at maturity, 

 narrowly to broadly oblong, obtuse with a short 

 tip, 3-sided when dry, i -celled, the valves separate 

 and involute after dehiscence; seed nearly as in 

 /. acuminatus. 



Southern Illinois to southeastern Kansas, Okla- 

 homa, Louisiana and Texas. 



47. Juncus diffusissimus Buckley. Diffuse 

 Rush. Fig. 1 212. 



Juncus diffusissimus Buckley, Proc. Acad. Phila. 1862 : 



9. 1862. 



Plant i-2 high. Stems few in a tuft, from a 

 short-branched inconspicuous rootstock, erect, slen- 

 der, terete or slightly compressed, 2-4-leaved ; blades 

 4'-8' long, \"-\" thick; inflorescence diffusely 

 branched, widely spreading, 4' -8' high and broad, 

 its lowest bract with a blade either obsolete or some- 

 times nearly as long as the panicle ; heads 3-i2-flow- 

 ered ; perianth ii"-ii" long, its parts subulate, 

 equal; stamens half to two-thirds as long as the 

 perianth ; anthers shorter than the filaments ; cap- 

 sule narrowly linear-lanceolate in outline, 2"-2i" 

 long, acute to obtuse at the apex, with a short tip, 

 3-sided, light brown, i-celled ; seed oblong to obo- 

 void, \"-\" long, acute at the base, abruptly tipped, 

 reticulate in about 16 rows, finely cross-lined. 



Indiana to Kansas, Georgia and Texas. 



2. JUNCOIDES Adans. Fam. PI. 2: 47 



[LuzuLA DC. Fl. Fr. 3: 158. 1805.] 



Perennial plants, with herbage either glabrous or sparingly webbed, stems leaf-bearing, 

 leaf-sheaths with united margins, and leaf-blades grass-like. Inflorescence umbelloid, pan- 

 iculate, or corymbose, often congested; flowers always bracteolate, the bractlets usually 

 lacerate or denticulate; stamens 6 in our species; ovary i-celled, its 3 ovules with basal in- 

 sertion; seeds 3, indistinctly reticulate, sometimes carunculate at base or apex, but not dis- 

 tinctly tailed. [Greek, meaning like Juncus.] 



About 65 species, widely distributed, mostly flowering in spring. Type species : Juncus pilosus L. 



Inflorescence umbelloid, i or 2 flowers on each of its branches. i. /. carolinae. 



Inflorescence theoretically paniculate, the flowers often crowded in spikelike clusters. 



Outer perianth-parts shorter than the inner ; introduced species. 2. J . nemorosum. 



Perianth-parts equal or nearly so : native species. 



Flowers 1-3 together, on the branches of an open panicle. 3. /. parviflorum. 



Flowers crowded into one or more thick spikes or spike-like clusters. 



Inflorescence nodding. 4. /. spicatum. 



Inflorescence erect or spr-eading, or its individual branches rarely nodding. 



Inflorescence of 1-3 spike-like or capitate flower-clusters, or the leaf-blades sharp- 

 pointed: 

 Inflorescence crowded into a single cluster ; leaves flat, usually with a blunt apex. 



5. /. arcticum. 



Inflorescence in 1-4 clusters ; leaves narrowed above, involute-channeled, apex 

 very sharp. 6. J. hyperboreum. 



Inflorescence of 2-12 spike-like or capitate clusters: leaf-blades with blunt points. 



7. /. campestre. 



