Wire rush, one of the more common species of Jwncus, and gener- 

 ally known in the western range States as wiregrass, is very widely 

 distributed in both Europe and Asia as well as in North America, 

 where it occurs from Newfoundland and Labrador to Alaska, Cali- 

 fornia, New Mexico, Nebraska, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. The 

 distinguished German botanist Carl L. Willdenow (1765-1812) ap- 

 pears to have named this plant Junvus 'balticus because of its com- 

 monness along the German shore bordering the Baltic Sea. Baltic 

 rush, a translation of the scientific name, is sometimes used as the 

 common name. 



As indicated by its extensive distribution, wire rush occurs under 

 a wide variety of environmental conditions and consists of a number 

 of races or forms. It appears near sea level, through the valleys and 

 deserts and almost to timberline in the mountains, growing on a 

 variety of soil types. This species prefers moist or wet, deep, organic, 

 meadow soils, where it usually appears in association with various 

 sedges, bluegrasses, and willows, or sometimes occurs in pure stands. 

 It is frequently common in shallow ponds or in other wet sites, where 

 the water may stand until midsummer or longer, but is also occa- 

 sionally found in rather dry situations such as sage flats and dry 

 meadows. The plant grows on soils which are either shallow or 

 gravelly, or a combination of both types if the moisture supply is 

 ample, but the dry-site soils it inhabits are usually deep and fertile. 

 The wet mountain meadows, bogs, and other cold, organic soils on 

 which wire rush grows are often high acid, although this species 

 also appears in soils that are alkaline or neutral. However, the 

 densest and most vigorous growth apparently results on neutral or 

 slightly acid soils. 



The forage value of wire rush depends on a number of factors, 

 such as stage of maturity, density of stand, and intensity of use. 

 The wiriness of the mature stems, which are rather tough even when 

 young, is so characteristic that the frequently used common name, 

 wiregrass, is appropriate although, of course, Baltic rush is not a 

 true grass. Its stems are so tough that they often pull free from 

 the rootstocks when livestock, especially cattle, are tugging to nip 

 them off. As might be expected, the palatability of this species is 

 greatest in the spring, and gradually decreases as the stems become 

 increasingly tough and mature. 



On most ranges, wire rush is used advantageously by livestock 

 if it composes less than 20 percent of the plant cover and is well 

 distributed amidst other forage plants. Possibly, some of this use 

 may be unintentional, wire rush being eaten along with the other 

 forage plants. Under these conditions, it is usually rated as good 

 for cattle and fairly good for sheep. Utilization normally decreases 

 as the density of this species increases, until ultimately any area com- 

 posed of 80 percent or more is very likely to be avoided, unless that 

 area is small or the range overstocked. On ranges where the meadow 

 type constitutes but a small portion of the forage, wire rush is usually 

 closely grazed season-long, especially by cattle. Sometimes, patches 

 of this species, which would be poor forage on the open range, are 

 grazed closely when in pastures. This is particularly true in certain 

 valleys where livestock are wintered. 



