74 JUNCACEAE (RUSH FAMILY) 
barbed for most of their length but smooth near the base, equal 
to or exceeding the achene in length, the latter being oblong, 
pointed, three-sided, dull brownish yellow. (Fig. 38.) 
Means of control 
Drainage of the land, followed by a cultivated crop given very 
thorough tillage throughout the growing season, in order to prevent. 
seed development and to destroy the perennial roots. 
SLENDER RUSH 
Juncus ténuis, Willd. 
Other English names: Wire-grass, Field Rush, Yard Rush. 
; P Native. Perennial. Propagates by 
} seeds. 
Time of bloom: June to August. 
Seed-time: July to September. 
Range: Throughout North America 
and most parts of the world. 
Habitat: Lawns, yards, meadows, 
and pastures. 
One usually thinks of marshy, or at 
least damp, ground in connection 
with rushes, but the Slender Rush is 
common everywhere and _ seems 
equally content whether the ground 
be wet or dry. (Fig. 39.) 
Stems thickly tufted, eight inches 
to two feet tall, extremely thin, round, 
green, wiry, and so elastic that they 
are always erect, no matter how 
much trodden upon by the grazing 
animals, which refuse to eat them. 
They have a few grassy base leaves 
which dry and wither away as the 
wiry, flowering stems develop. Flowers 
in irregular clusters between two 
Fic, 39.—Slender Rush (Jun- long, flattened, blade-like leaves at 
cus tenuis). X 4. the top of the stem; they have six 
