JUNCACEAE 
183 
in terminal or sometimes apparently lateral heads, spikes, corymbs or 
panicles. Perianth with 6 distinct similar glume-like segments. Stamens 
6 or sometimes 3. Ovary superior. 3 or sometimes 1-celled; stigmas 3, 
filiform; ovules 3 to many. Fruit a loculicidally 3-valved capsule. Em¬ 
bryo minute, inclosed in fleshy endosperm.—Species about 300, widely dis¬ 
persed over the earth but mostly in temperate and cold regions. 
1. JUNCUS L. Rush 
Plants of swamps or wet places; herbage glabrous. Stems simple, with 
spongy pith or sometimes hollow, leafy, or naked and scape-like. Flowers 
greenish or brownish. (Classical name for the rush, perhaps from 
Latin jungo, to join, the stems used for binding.) 
Inflorescence apparently lateral; involucral bract erect, appearing like a continuous 
prolongation of the stem; sheaths bladeless. 
Perianth greenish or dark, the segments scarious-margined; capsule oblong- 
ovate; common, widely distributed.1. J. balticus. 
Perianth pale brown, the segments not scarious-margined. 
Stamens 6; capsule broadly subglobose, obtuse, apiculate....2. J. patens* 
Stamens 3 ; capsule narrow, clavate, obovate, obtuse or retuse. 
3. /. effusus. 
Inflorescence terminal; involucral bract not a continuation of the stem (or if so, 
conspicuously channeled along the upper side). 
Low dwarf annuals with fibrous roots; perianth-segments greenish with 
white scarious margins ; capsule oblong.......4. J. bufonius , 
Tall perennials; rootstocks mostly stout and creeping; perianth-segments light 
reddish-brown; capsule abruptly acuminate.5. J. xiphioides. 
1. J. balticus Willd. Wire Rush. Plants caespitose, grass-like, 2.8 
to 10 dm. high; stems terete or sometimes compressed; panicle lax, 
many-flowered; capsule equalling or shorter than the perianth.—Widely 
spread throughout Cal. 
2. J. patens Mey. Common Rush. Stems slender, densely tufted, 
4.3 to 8.6 dm. high, terete; panicle lax, many-flowered; perianth-seg¬ 
ments spreading in fruit; capsule slightly angled, a little shorter than 
the perianth.—Common in marshy or 
springy ground. This species also grows 
in Europe. The Latin sailors used this 
or a similar species, which they in the 
vernacular of their tongue called j uncus, 
for making cordage. As the term mi¬ 
grated westward it became junc or junk, 
sailors applying it to their rations of 
meat on account of its toughness. It is 
interesting that gardeners in California 
who are natives of Italy gather the stems 
of this and allied species and cure them 
for tying up bunches of vegetables for 
the market. 
3. J. effusus L. Bog Rush. Fig. 9. 
Similar in habit to no. 2 but perianth-seg¬ 
ments smaller and not so spreading; cap¬ 
sule triangular, equaling the perianth.— 
Common in springy spots, hillside bogs or valley flats. 
Fig. 9. Juncus effusus L.; a, 
infl. x % ; b, perianth and cap¬ 
sule x 9. 
