326 



JUNCACEiE. 



Juncus. 



3. Juncus Balticus, Willd. Baltic Rush. 



Scape very faintly striate ; panicle decompound, erect ; flowers hexandrous ; leaflets of 

 the perianth ovate-lanceolate, very acute and mucronate, as long as the elliptical mucronate 

 capsule ; style conspicuous ; seeds without appendages. — Willd. in Berl. mag. 1809. p. 298 ; 

 Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 189 ; Kunth, enum. 3. p. 317. J. glaucus, Richards, app. Frankl. 

 nar. p. 1 1 . 



Rhizoma creeping extensively. Scape 2-4 feet high, very smooth and even, often flexuous 

 or twisted, in the dry state minutely striate, clothed at the base with several long brownish 

 sheaths. Panicle loose ; the branches flexuous, slender and very unequal. Flowers shining ; 

 the segments of the perianth dark chestnut-colored, with a pale midrib. Capsule triangular, 

 shining, chestnut-colored. Seeds oblong, light brown. 



Gravelly shores of the St. Lawrence, and of Lake Ontario. Fl. July. A native also of 

 the northern parts of Europe. 



** Culm leafy : leaves terete, nodose: inflorescence terminal : jlowcrs mostly in heads. 



4. Juncus nodosus, Linn. Smaller Round-headed Rush. 



Stem nearly terete, leafy ; leaves conspicuously nodose, terete ; inflorescence terminal ; 

 heads few, globose, many-flowered ; leaflets of the perianth linear-lanceolate, with a long 

 subulate point ; stamens 3 ; capsule triquetrous, attenuated at the summit, about the length 

 of the perianth ; seeds oblong, rather acute at each end. — Linn. sp. (ed. 2.) 1. p. 466 ? Muhl. 

 gram. p. 206 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 363; Beck, hot. p. 371. 



var. 1. vulgaris : heads few (sometimes only 1 or 2 ) , 10 - 20-flowered, rather loose ; 

 perianth light brownish purple ; stamens 6 ; capsules a little longer than the perianth, brown. 

 J. nodosus, Rostk. June. p. 38. t. 2. f. 2 1 J. Rostkovii, Kunth, enum. 3. p. 332. J. poly- 

 cephalus, /3. y., Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 190. 



var. 2. multifiorus : heads rather numerous, in a more or less compound panicle, many- 

 (20 - 50-) flowered, compact ; stamens 3 ; capsules rather shorter than the greenish perianth. 

 J. echinatus, Kunth, I. c. p. 339 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 410 ? 



var. 3. megacephalus : heads very large, in a dense cluster, 50 - 60-flowered ; stamens 

 6 ; capsules a little longer than the tawny perianth. 



Rhizoma creeping. Stem, in the first two varieties, 8-15 inches high, slender; in var. 

 3, about 2 feet high, and stout. Leaves distinctly nodose. Heads about one-third of an inch 

 in diameter in varieties 1 and 2 ; about half an inch in the other. Leaflets of the perianth 

 terminating in a long almost awned point. Capsule slender, tapering to a long and very acute 

 summit, opening at the sides and usually closed at the apex. Seeds yellowish, slightly ribbed. 



Sandy borders of lakes and rivers ; var. 3, on the shores of Lake Ontario (Dr. Gray). 

 Fl. July. Fr. September. All the varieties are easily distinguished from J. polycephalus, 

 by the attenuate capsules, and oblong (not tailed) seeds. 



