Genus i. 



RUSH FAMILY. 



475 



25. Juncus castaneus Smith. Chestnut Rush. Clustered Alpine Rush. 



Juncus castaneus Smith, Fl. Brit. 1 : 383. 1800. 



Stems erect, 4'-2o' high, terete, leafless, or with a 

 single leaf, arising singly from a slender rootstock. 

 Basal leaves 3-5, the outer sheaths short, loose, the 

 inner clasping, sometimes 4' long, not auriculate, their 

 blades tapering from an involute-tubular base to a 

 slender channeled acutish apex; inflorescence strict, 

 usually exceeded by its lowest bract, the other bracts 

 membranous and mostly equalling the flowers ; heads 

 1-3, 3-12-flowered ; pedicels J"-ii" long; perianth 

 brown or black, 2."-?,\" long, its parts lanceolate, acute; 

 stamens nearly as long as the perianth ; anthers about 

 I" long; capsule brown, paler toward the base, ii-2 

 times as long as the perianth, narrowly oblong, tapering 

 to an acute summit, imperfectly 3-celled; seed ii"-2" 

 long, contracted into long slender tails, the body about 

 i" long. 



Newfoundland and Quebec to Alaska, south along the 

 mountains to Colorado. Europe and Asia. 



26. Juncus stygius L. Moor Rush. Fig. 1191. 



Juncus stygius L. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10, 2: 987. 1759. 

 /. stygius var. americanus Buch. in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 12 : 

 393. 1890. 



Rootstock none; stems 3'-i° high, single, or few 

 together, erect, 1-3-leaved below, leafless above ; leaf- 

 sheaths s"-io" long, clasping, nerved, auriculate; blades 

 erect or nearly so, io"-4' long, slightly compressed, 

 channeled on the upper side, tapering to a blunt point; 

 inflorescence of 1-4 heads; heads 1-4-flowered ; lowest 

 bract usually exceeding the flowers; perianth ii"-2i" 

 long, pale, its parts lanceolate, 3-nerved, equal, with 

 membranous margins, obtuse or acute; stamens half as 

 long as the perianth or more; anthers oblong, shorter 

 than the 'filaments; capsule 3"-4" long, pale brown, 

 spindle-shaped, acute, mucronate, 3-celled below, few- 

 seeded; seed spindle-shaped, ii"-ii" long, with a loose 

 coat, the body about i" long, narrowed into thick tails. 



Newfoundland to Maine, northern New York, Michigan 

 and Minnesota ; also in British Columbia and Europe. 



27. Juncus biglumis L. Two-flowered Rush. Fig. 1192. 



Juncus biglumis L. Sp. PI. 328. 1753. 



Stems 1 '-8' high, loosely tufted on a branched rootstock, 

 erect, nearly terete. Leaves 1-5, all basal, the outermost 

 sheath usually 4" long or less, the innermost sometimes 

 much longer, inconspicuously or not at all auriculate, the 

 blades nearly terete ; inflorescence a capitate cluster of 

 1-4 flowers, its. lowest bract erect, f oliose, green with brown 

 membranous margins below; perianth \V'-\\" long, dark 

 brown, its parts membranous, oblong, obtuse, nearly equal; 

 stamens equalling the perianth; anthers linear-oblong; 

 capsule longer than the perianth, cylindric-oblong, 3-sided, 

 retuse at the summit, with 3 keeled shoulders, purplish 

 black, or with purple-margined valves, imperfectly 3-celled ; 

 seed i"-l" long, fusiform, the body narrowed into short 

 stout tails. 



Baffin Bay to Alaska and British Columbia. Also in Europe 

 and Asia. 



