JUNCUS. 



JUNCACE^. 



329 



*** Leaves fiat, or channelled on the upper side. 



9. Juncus bufonius, Linn. Toad Rush. 



Stems diffuse, leafy, dichotomous above ; leaves setaceous, channelled ; inflorescence loose, 

 the flowers mostly solitary and remote ; leaflets of the perianth lanceolate, conspicuously 

 acuminate, much longer than the oblong obtuse capsule. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 328 ; Engl. bot. 

 t. 802 ; Michx.fl. 1. p. 191 ; Pursh, fl. I. p. 238 ; Muhl. gram. p. 203 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 407 ; 

 Torr. fl. 1. p. 363 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 139 ; Beck, bot. p. 372 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest.p. 229; 

 Kunth, enum. 3. p. 353. 



Annual. Stems cespitose, 3-6 inches high, terete. Leaves few, shorter than the stem, 

 with membranaceous sheaths. Panicle large, spreading, few-flowered. Perianth pale green, 

 with conspicuous whitish bracts at the base, about one-third longer than the capsule. Stamens 

 6. Style short, but distinct. Capsule mucronate. Seeds ovoid, brown, striate. 



Low grounds, and around ponds : common. Fl. June - August. Our plant agrees in 

 all its characters with the European J. bufonius. 



10. Juncus tenuis, Willd. Slender Rush, 



Stems cespitose, slender, nearly naked, leafy at the base, erect, somewhat compressed, 

 rigid; leaves setaceous -linear, channelled; inflorescence terminal, cymose, more or less 

 compound, shorter than the erect involucral leaves ; flowers solitary, unilateral ; leaflets of the 

 perianth lanceolate, about one-third longer than the obtuse capsule. — Willd. sp. 2. p. 214 ; 

 Pursh, fl. I. p. 238 ; Ell. sk. I. p. 406 ; Muhl. gram. p. 200 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 361 (excl. 

 syn. Engl. bot. Bich.) ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 138 ; Beck, bot. p. 372 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. 

 p. 229 ; Kunth, enum. p. 348. J. bicornis, Michx. fl. I. p. 191 ; Pursh, I. c. 



Perennial. Stem 8-15 inches high, tough, leafy only near the base. Leaves striate, 

 somewhat rounded on the back, channelled on the upper surface. Inflorescence consisting of 

 several cymes, with very unequal peduncles ; the flowers somewhat racemose or unilateral on 

 the branchlets. Leaflets of the perianth narrow and very acute, shining, greenish. Stamens 

 6. Style short, but distinct. Capsule globose-ovoid. Seeds ovoid-oblong, with a minute 

 appendage at one end. 



Low grounds, road-sides, etc. : common. Fl. June - August. I have found a Juncus 

 on the seacoast of Long Island, which is perhaps a variety of J. tenuis altered by a saline 

 soil. The leaves are nearly terete, with scarcely any traces of a channel, and the panicle is 

 much contracted. In other respects it does not differ essentially from the ordinary form. 



11. Juncus Greenei, Tuckerm. Sf Oakes. Greenes Rush, 



Stem erect, nearly naked, leafy at the base, terete, rigid ; leaves setaceous-linear, channelled 

 above, rounded on the back ; inflorescence terminal, compound, cymose, contracted, shorter 

 than the erect involucral leaves ; flowers solitary, erect, unilateral ; leaflets of the perianth 

 lanceolate, shorter than the ovoid-oblong rather obtuse capsule. — Tuckerm. in Sill. jour. 45. 

 p. 37. 



[Flora — Vol. 2.] 42 



