JUNCE^. 203 



3 ; ovary superior, 1 - 3-celled ; style 1, fruit capsular, 3-valved ; 

 roots fibrous or fascicled ; leaves hollow, or flat and channelled. 



JuNcus. L. 6. 1. 



Valves of the capsule bearing the partitions in the middle, to 

 which the seeds are attached. 



Named from the Latin to join, as the first ropes are supposed 

 to have been formed of rushes. More than 70 species have been 

 described ; about 20 belong to North America, and one half of 

 these are found in this Commonwealth. 



J. effusus. L. Bull Rush. Grows in dense bunches in wet, 

 marshy situations, with a stem simple, smooth, leafless, full of a 

 white, spongy pith, and bearing flowers on the side, and towards 

 the top of the stem, in a large panicle. 



Used in the manufacture of mats and baskets ; the pith is some- 

 times used for the wick of candles, rush-lights ; may be twisted 

 into ropes of considerable strength. 



J. tenuis. L. A slender rush, along roads and in wet pas- 

 tures. 



J. bufonius. L. Frog Rush. A low plant densely growing 

 in wet places, forming almost a turf; stem, with a dichotomous 

 panicle, 3-6 inches high. 



J. nodosus. L. Knotted Rush. Often cut with the coarse 

 grasses for hay ; culm a foot or more high, slender, erect, with a 

 few leaves often longer than the stem, with knots or joints ; 

 flowers usually in 2 globose heads, having a fine appearance ; wet 

 meadows ; July. 



J. militaris. Big. Bayonet Rush. Discovered in Tewks- 

 bury Pond, by Mr. Greene ; culm 2 or 3 feet high, with a leaf 

 originating below the middle, and yet projecting beyond and joint- 

 ed ; flowers at the summit in a panicle. 



J. setaceous. L. A small, slender, erect rush, growing in 

 swamps, 2 feet high ; July. 



