26. Juncus Stygius L. Moor Rush

Fig. 1191

Juncus stygius L. Syst. Nat. Ed. io, 2: 987. 1759. J. stygius var. americanus Buch. in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 12: 393. 1890.

Rootstock none; stems 3'-1° high, single, or few together, erect, 1-3-leaved below, leafless above; leaf-sheaths 5"-10" long, clasping, nerved, auriculate; blades erect or nearly so, 10"-4' long, slightly compressed, channeled on the upper side, tapering to a blunt point; inflorescence of 1-4 heads; heads 1-4-flowered; lowest bract usually exceeding the flowers; perianth 1 1/2"-2 1/2" long, pale, its parts lanceolate, 3-nerved, equal, with membranous margins, obtuse or acute; stamens half as long as the perianth or more; anthers oblong, shorter than the filaments; capsule 3"-4" long, pale brown, spindle-shaped, acute, mucronate, 3-celled below, few-seeded; seed spindle-shaped, 11 /4"-1 1/2" long, with a loose coat, the body about 1/2" long, narrowed into thick tails.

Newfoundland to Maine, northern New York, Michigan and Minnesota; also in British Columbia and Europe.

27. Juncus Biglumis L. Two-Flowered Rush

Fig. 1192

Juncus biglumis L. Sp. PI. 328. 1753.

Stems 1'-8' high, loosely tufted on a branched rootstock, erect, nearly terete. Leaves 1-5, all basal, the outermost sheath usually 4" long or less, the innermost sometimes much longer, inconspicuously or not at all auriculate, the blades nearly terete; inflorescence a capitate cluster of 1-4 flowers, its lowest bract erect, foliose, green with brown membranous margins below; perianth 1 1/2"-1 3/4" long, dark brown, its parts membranous, oblong, obtuse, nearly equal; stamens equalling the perianth; anthers linear-oblong; capsule longer than the perianth, cylindric-oblong, 3-sided, retuse at the summit, with 3 keeled shoulders, purplish black, or with purple-margined valves, imperfectly 3-celled; seed 1/2"- 3/5" long, fusiform, the body narrowed into short stout tails.

Baffin Bay to Alaska and British Columbia. Also in Europe and Asia.

28. Juncus Triglumis L. Three-Flowered Rush

Fig. 1193

J uncus triglumis L. Sp. PI. 328. 1753.

Stems 3-7' high, loosely tufted on a branched root-stock, erect, terete. Leaves 1-5, all basal, with sheaths clasping and conspicuously auriculate, the blades sub-terete, blunt, 1/4" in diameter, usually less than half the height of the plant; inflorescence a capitate cluster of 1-5 (usually 3) flowers, the lowest 2 or 3 bracts nearly equal, divergent, about as long as the flowers, usually brown, obtuse and membranous; perianth 1 1/2"-2" long, its parts oblong-lanceolate, obtuse; stamens nearly as long as the perianth; anthers linear, short; capsule about equalling the perianth, oblong, obtuse, mucronate, 3-angled, imperfectly 3-celIed; seed about 1" long, its body oblong, abruptly contracted into long slender tails.

Labrador and Newfoundland to Alaska, south in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado. Also in Europe and Asia.