290 



PETALOIDE^ 



I. J UNCUS (Rush) 

 Stems cylindrical, tapering to a point ; leaves none. 



1. /. effusus (Soft Rush). — Stems not furrowed; 

 panicle below the summit of the stem, branched 

 and spreading ; capsule blunt. This and the 

 following species are well known as the rushes 

 of which mats and the wibks of candles are made. 

 Marshy ground ; common. — Fl._ July. Per- 

 ennial. 



2. /. conglomeratus (Common Rush). — Stems 

 not furrowed ; panicle below the summit of the 

 stem, crowded ; capsule ending in a point. Only 

 distinguished from the last by its dense panicle 

 of flowers, and pointed capsule. Marshy places ; 

 common. — Fl. July. Perennial. 



juNcus Effusus ^^ j gi^^^om (Hard Rush).— Stews deeply 

 {Soft Rush) furrowed, rigid ; panicle below the summit of 

 the stem, branched and spreading. Very distinct from the last 

 two, from which it may be distinguished by its more slender, 

 furrowed, glaucous stems, and its very loose panicle of slender 

 flowers. Marshy places and road.sides ; common. — Fl. July. 

 Perennial. 



Several other species Vjelong to this group, but none are common, 

 except /. maritimus (Lesser Sea-Rush), which differs from those 

 already described in having the portion of the stem which rises 

 above the panicle dilated at the base, so as to resemble a bract ; 

 it grows in salt marshes. /. acutus (Great Sea-Rush), the largest 

 British species, grows on the sandy sea-shore in great abundance in 

 a few places ; it is weU marked by its stout, rigid habit, and by its 

 large, polished capsules. 



Stems leafless ; leaves all from_ the root. 

 4. /. squarrosus (Heath Rush).— Lertj;es rigid, grooved; panicle 

 terminal. Well marked by its rigid stems and leaves, of which 

 the latter have mostly one direction. The stems are about i foot 

 high ; the flowers larger than in the marsh species, and variegated 

 with glossy brown and yellowish white. Moors and heaths ; abun- 

 dant. — Fl. June, July. Perennial. 



Stems leafy ; leaves cylindrical, or hut slightly flattened, 

 jointed internally. 

 The most common species in this group are — ■ 

 /. acidifiorus (Sharp-flowered, jointed Rush). — A slender plant, 

 1-2 feet high, with shghtly flattened stems and leaves, and terminal 

 panicles of brown, sharp-pointed flowers. 



