JUNCACEAE. 2 53 



when dry, i-celled; seed nearly as in J. acuminatus . S. 111. to Kans., Okla., La. 

 and Tex. 



40. Juncus diffusissimus Buckley Diffuse Rush. (I. F. f. 958.) Plant 

 3-6 dm. high. Stems few in a tuft, erect, slender, terete or slightly compressed, 

 2-4-leaved; blades 1-2 dm. long; inflorescence diffusely branched, 1-2 dm. high 

 and broad; heads 3-12 -flowered; perianth 2.5-3.5 mm. long, its parts subulate, 

 equal; capsule linear-lanceolate in outline, 4-5.5 mm. long, with a short tip, 3- 

 sided, light brown, i-celled; seed oblong to obovoid, acute at the base, abruptly 

 tipped, reticulate in about 16 rows. S. Kans. to Miss, and Tex. 



a. JUNCOIDES Adans. [LUZULA DC] (See Appendix.) 



Perennial plants, with herbage either glabrous or sparingly webbed, stems leaf- 

 bearing, leaf-sheaths with united margins, and leaf-blades grass-like. Inflorescence 

 umbelloid. paniculate, or corymbose, often congested ; flowers always bracteolate, 

 the bractlets usually lacerate or denticulate; stamens 6 in our species; ovary 

 i-celled, its 3 ovules with basal insertion; seeds 3, indistinctly reticulate, sometimes 

 carunculate, not distinctly tailed. [Greek, meaning like Juncus.] About 40 

 species, widely distributed, mostly flowering in spring. 



Inflorescence umbelloid, 1 or 2 flowers on each of its branches. 1. J. pilosum. 



Inflorescence theoretically paniculate, the flowers often crowded in spike-like clusters. 

 Outer perianth-parts shorter than the inner ; introduced species. 2. J. nemorosum. 

 Perianth-parts equal or nearly so ; native species. 



Flowers 1-3 together, on the branches of an open panicle. 3. J. parvijlorum* 

 Flowers crowded into one or more thick spikes or spike-like clusters. 



Inflorescence nodding. 4. J. spicatum. 



Inflorescence erect or spreading, or its individual branches rarely nodding. 

 Inflorescence of 1-3 spike-like or capitate flower-clusters, or the leaf- 

 blades sharp-pointed. 

 Inflorescence crowded into a single cluster ; leaves flat, usually with 



a blunt apex. 5. J. nivale. 



Inflorescence in 1-4 clusters; leaves narrowed above, involute- 

 channeled, apex very sharp. 6. J. hyperboreum. 

 Inflorescence of 2-12 spike-like or capitate clusters ; leaf-blades with 

 blunt points. 7. J. campestre. 



1. Juncoides pilosum (L.) Kuntze. Hairy Wood-rush. (I. F. f. 959.) 

 Tufted, often stoloniferous. Stems erect, 2-4-leaved, 1.5-3 dm. high; leaf-blades 

 3-8 mm. wide, flat, slightly webbed, acuminate into a blunt tip; inflorescence an 

 umbelloid flower-cluster, the filiform pedicels equal or nearly so, I -flowered or 

 sometimes 2-flowered; perianth 2.5-3 mm. long, its parts triangular-ovate, acumi- 

 nate, brown with hyaline margins, about twice as long as the toothed bractlets; 

 capsule about one-fourth exceeding the perianth, its valves ovate, acuminate; seed 

 provided at the summit with a conspicuous hooked caruncle. N. B. to Alaska, 

 N Y., Mich, and Ore., and in the Alleghanies to N. Car. Also in Europe 

 :.nd Asia. 



2. Juncoides nemorosum (Poll.) Kuntze. Forest Wood-rush. (I. F. f. 

 »6o. ) Loosely tufted or somewhat stoloniferous. Stems slender, 3-7 dm. high, 

 1-6-leaved; leaf-blades 3-6 mm. wide, ciliate, flat; inflorescence diffusely panicu- 

 late or corymbose, the few lower bracts foliose; flowers in clusters of 3-8, the 

 bractlets ovate, entire or sparingly denticulate above; perianth about 2.5 mm. in 

 length, its parts ovate-lanceolate, acute, the outer about one-fifth shorter than the 

 inner; capsule ovoid, acuminate, barely equalling the perianth; seed obliquely 

 ovoid, about 1.2 mm. long. A European species, naturalized at Riverdale, N. Y. 



3. Juncoides parviflorum(Ehrh.) Coville. Small-flowered Wood-rush. 

 (I. F, f. 961.) Stems single or few in a tuft, stoloniferous, 2.5-7.5 dm. high, 2-5- 

 leaved; leaves glabrous, their blades 3-10 mm. wide; inflorescence a nodding 

 decompound panicle, its lowest bract foliose; flowers borne singly, or sometimes 2 

 or 3 together, on slender pedicels; bractlets ovate, entire or rarely somewhat 

 lacerate; perianth 1. 5-2. 5 mm. in length, its parts ovate, acuminate, slightly ex- 

 ceeded by the ovoid capsule; seed narrowly oblong, 1-1.5 mm. in length. Lab. 

 to Br. Col., N. H., N. Y. and Minn.; in the mountains to Ariz, and Cal. Also in 

 Europe and Asia. 



