Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and sedges. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is Juncus. Most of the Juncus species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes, such as Juncus bufonius are annuals, but most are perennials.
Juncus bufonius, known commonly as toad rush, is a widespread flowering plant species complex in the rush family Juncaceae.
Juncus articulatus is a flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. It is known by the common name jointleaf rush or jointed rush, which can also refer to J. kraussii from Australia. It is native to Eurasia, Canada, Greenland, and much of the United States. It grows in moist areas, such as wet sand, and thrives in calcareous soils. J. articulatus was found to be more sensitive to drought and salt stress than its congeners J. acutus and J. maritimus. It is a perennial herb producing mainly erect stems from a short rhizome. The stem may root at nodes, and it generally has one or more flattened hollow cylindrical leaves up to 10 centimeters long. Transverse internal partitions or joints may be seen or felt in the leaf of the plant.
Juncus capitatus is a species of rush known by the common names dwarf rush and leafybract dwarf rush. It is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. It is also an introduced species in parts of North America such as California and the Gulf Coast. It grows in moist areas, such as wet sand, vernal pools, and ditches.
Juncus confusus is a species of rush known by the common name Colorado rush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California to Colorado, where it grows in coniferous forests and wet, grassy areas such as mountain meadows. It is a bunching rhizomatous perennial herb which grows to a maximum height between 30 and 50 centimeters. Its thready leaves grow from the base of the light green stems to about 15 centimeters long. The inflorescence atop the stem is an array of individual flowers and there is a long bract at the base which may be up to 8 centimeters in length. Each flower has long, pointed tepals with dark and light longitudinal stripes and membranous, translucent borders. There are six stamens. The fruit is a light to dark brown oval-shaped or rounded capsule.
Juncus drummondii is a species of rush known by the common name Drummond's rush. It is native to western North America from northern Canada and Alaska to New Mexico, where it grows in wet coniferous forest and alpine meadows and slopes. This is a perennial herb forming narrow, erect tufts to about 40 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves are basal and most have no real blades; instead they form a sheath around the stem a few centimeters long. The inflorescence is borne on the side of the stem toward the top. There is a long, cylindrical bract at the base which extends out past the flowers. Each flower is on a thin pedicel. The thick tepals are dark brown, sometimes with green striping and thin, transparent edges. There are six stamens with yellowish anthers, and red stigmas. The fruit is a capsule.
Juncus ensifolius is a species of rush known by the common names swordleaf rush, sword-leaved rush, and three-stamened rush. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska to central Mexico, and into eastern Canada. It is present in Japan and far eastern Russia, and it has been introduced to many other regions of the world, including Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. It is a plant of wet areas in many types of habitat. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb forming clumps of stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall. The flat but curving leaves are mostly located at the base of the stems and are variable in length. The inflorescence is an array of many rounded clusters of many flowers each. Each flower has a number of dark brown to black tepals a few millimeters long and usually three small stamens enclosed between them. The fruit is an oblong capsule with a small beak on the tip.
Juncus mertensianus is a species of rush known by the common name Mertens' rush or Alaska rush. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska to Saskatchewan to New Mexico, where it grows in wet mountainous areas such as riverbanks and alpine meadows. This is a clumping perennial herb growing from a vertical rhizome. Its smooth, flat stems grow to a maximum height near 40 centimeters. Its few leaves are located at the base and also along the stem. The inflorescence is made up of usually one cluster of many flowers. Each flower has shiny dark brown to black tepals 3 to 4 millimeters long, six stamens with yellowish anthers, and long reddish stigmas, as in image at left. The fruit is a dark, oblong capsule, as in image at right.
Juncus mexicanus is a species of rush known by the common name Mexican rush. It is native to the southwestern quadrant of the United States and parts of Mexico and Central and South America. It is a plant of moist areas in a great number of habitats, from coast to desert to mountain and low to high elevation.
Juncus nevadensis is a species of rush known by the common name Sierra rush. It is native to much of western North America from British Columbia to New Mexico, where it grows in wet areas in many habitat types. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb which varies in appearance. Its thin, smooth stems reach a maximum height between 10 and 70 centimeters. The thin green leaves may be up to 30 centimeters long. The inflorescences generally contain a number of flowers, with each flower bearing dark to very light brown tepals, six stamens with large anthers, and very long stigmas. The fruit is a shiny chestnut brown capsule.
Juncus patens is a species of rush, known by the common names spreading rush and California grey rush.
Juncus dubius is a species of rush known by the common name wrinkled rush. It is endemic to California, in the California Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and southern Sierra Nevada. It is a common member of the flora in many wet areas, such as marshes and riverbanks.
Juncus textilis is a species of rush known by the common name basket rush. It is endemic to California, where it grows along the coast and in the coastal mountain ranges of the southern half of the state.
Juncus torreyi is a species of rush known by the common name Torrey's rush. It is native to North America, where it is widespread. It can be found in many habitats across the southern half of Canada, coast to coast in the United States, and throughout northern Mexico. This is a perennial herb growing from rhizomes with associated tiny tubers. The smooth stems vary in maximum height from 30 centimeters to around a meter. The leaves are green to pink or red and up to 30 centimeters long. The inflorescences have many dense, rounded clusters of up to 100 flowers each. The flower has narrow, pointed greenish, tan, or reddish tepals and six stamens. The fruit is a pointed brown capsule.
Juncus xiphioides is a species of rush known by the common name irisleaf rush.
Juncus saximontanus is a species of rush known by the common name Rocky Mountain rush. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska to central Mexico, where it grows in wet habitat, often in mountainous areas, such as bogs and moist meadows.
Juncus digitatus is a rare species of rush known by the common name finger rush. It is endemic to Shasta County, California, where it is known from only two occurrences near Shingletown. It occurs in spring-moist habitat such as vernal pools in sunny locations in the foothills of the southernmost Cascade Range. The plant was first collected in 1991 and described to science as a new species in 2008.
Juncus acutiflorus, also called sharp-flowered rush, is a rush or a grassy plant of the genus Juncus. As the name suggests, the plant has notable sharp-looking flowers, flowering between July and September.
Juncus castaneus is a species of rush known by the common name chestnut rush. It has a circumboreal or circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs in Europe, Asia, and North America. In North America it occurs from Alaska to Greenland, its distribution spanning Canada and extending south through the Rocky Mountains in the contiguous United States. It is widespread and common in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Oreojuncus trifidus is a species of rush known by the common names highland rush and three-leaved rush. It is native to the Northern Hemisphere, where it is an arctic/montane species with an amphi-atlantic distribution.
