256 JUNCACEAE 



2. Juncus gymnocarpus Coville. Plants 3-8 dm. high. Scapes arising at intervals 

 from a proliferous rootstock about 3 mm. thick : leaf-sheaths basal, bladeless : inflo- 

 rescence appearing lateral, 15-30 mm. high, spreading, its bract 1-2.5 dm. long : flowers 

 perfect : perianth rather less than 2 mm. long : sepals and petals nearly equal, ovate or 

 ovate- lanceolate : sepals apiculate, with firmer bodies than the obtuse petals : stamens 6, 

 nearly as long as the perianth ; anthers shorter than the filaments : capsules ovoid, 2-2.5 

 mm. long, about twice as long as the perianth, prominently apiculate, shining, barely 

 dehiscent. 



In swamps, eastern Pennsylvania and northern Florida. Spring and summer. 



3. Juncus Roemerianus Scheele. Plants 5-12 dm. high. Scapes arising from 

 scaly horizontal rootstocks 5-10 mm. thick : leaf-sheaths basal, bearing erect blades re- 

 sembling the stem and of about the same length : in florescence appearing lateral, 6-15 cm. 

 high, diffuse, its bract 10-25 cm. long: flowers usually dioecious : heads 2-6-flowered: peri- 

 anth 2-3.5 mm. long : sepals linear-oblong, acuminate : petals shorter and blunt pointed : 

 stamens 6, or in pistillate plants reduced to staminodia : capsules brown, 3-celled, about as 

 long as the perianth, narrowly obovoid, obtuse or truncate, mucronate : placenta thick 

 and spongy, about as broad as the valve. 



In brackish marshes, New Jersey to Florida and Texas. Spring. 



4. Juncus bufonius L. Plants branching from the base, seldom over 20 cm. high. 

 Stems in robust plants with 1-2 leaves : leaf-blades 0.2-1 mm. wide, in larger plants 

 flat, in depauperate ones filiform-involute : inflorescence about the height of the plant : 

 flowers inserted singly on its branches : sepals and petals 4-7 mm. long, lanceolate, 

 acuminate : stamens usually 6, seldom as long as the perianth ; anthers shorter than 

 the filaments : capsules 3-celled, about as long as the perianth, narrowly oblong, obtuse, 

 mucronate: seeds broadly oblong with straight apiculations, 0.35-0.5 mm. long, finely 

 reticulated in 30-40 longitudinal rows, the areolae broader than long. 



About dried-up pools and on roadsides, throughout North America, except the extreme north. 

 Also cosmopolitan. Spring and summer. 



5. Juncus trifidus L. Plants densely tufted, 1-3 dm. high. Stems closely set on stout 

 rootstocks, about 0.5 mm. thick : basal leaves reduced to almost bladeless sheaths, the 

 uppermost with a rudimentary blade and fimbriate auricles; stem-leaf solitary, just below 

 the inflorescence, with a narrower flat or involute blade : inflorescence a cluster of 1-3 

 flowers, the lowest bract resembling the upper leaf, the succeeding one much smaller or 

 obsolete: perianth dark brown, 2.5-3 mm. long : stamens 6 ; anthers about as long as the 

 filaments : capsules leathery, about as long as the perianth, obovoid, with a mucronate- 

 aristate top : seeds few, narrowly obovoid, irregularly angled, minutely striate. 



In sterile or stony soil, Greenland and Labrador, to the higher mountains of New England, New 

 York and North Carolina. Also in northern Europe and Asia. Summer. 



6. Juncus Gerardi Lois. Plants copiously tufted, 2-6 dm. high, from horizontal 

 rootstocks. Stems not bulbous-thickened at the base : basal leaves with loosely clasping 

 auriculate sheaths, the blades mostly 1-2 dm. long, less than 2 mm. wide, flat or involute 

 in drying ; stem-leaves 1 or 2, similar to the basal, but with shorter blades : inflorescence 

 paniculate, often overtopped by the lowest bract : panicle erect : perianth about 2 mm. 

 long : sepals and petals oblong, obtuse, with green midribs and dark brown margins, or 

 straw-colored in age : stamens 6, barely exceeded by the perianth ; anthers much longer 

 than the filaments : capsules J-J longer than the perianth, obovoid, 3-celled, mucronate, 

 dark brown, shining. 



On salt meadows, Gulf of St. Lawrence to Virginia, and Florida (according to Engelmann), and 

 about the Great Lakes. Also in Europe. Spring and summer. 



7. Juucus seciindus Beauv. Plants tufted, 1-4 dm. high. Leaves basal, usually 

 less than the height of the plant : inflorescence longer than its lowest bract, or only 

 slightly exceeded by it, 3-8 cm. high : flowers secund on the strongly ascending and usually 

 somewhat incurved branches : perianth 2.5-3.5 mm. long : sepals and petals lanceolate or 

 broadly lanceolate, acute, equalling or barely exceeding the capsule and appressed to it 

 for about f their length : stamens 6, about as long as the perianth ; anthers slightly 

 longer than the filaments : capsule oval, 3-sided above the middle, with straight sides and 

 a truncate apex, completely 3-celled : seeds narrowly oblong to ovoid, obliquely tipped, 

 0.28-0.37 mm. long. 



In dry or sandy soil, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to North Carolina. Spring and summer. 



8. Juncus interior Wiegand. Plants 5-10 dm. high, light green. Leaves basal, 

 several ; blades about the length of the scape, 1-1.25 mm. wide, sometimes involute : 

 scapes grooved : inflorescence 3-10 cm. long, many-flowered, the branches ascending : 

 flowers scattered, rather distant : perianth straw-colored, 3-4 mm. long : sepals and petals 



