2. Juncoides Nemordsum (Poll.) Kuntze. Forest Wood-Rush

Fig. 1214

J uncus nemorosus Poll. Hist. PI. Pal. 1: 352. 1776 , Juncoides nemorosum Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 724. 1891.

Loosely tufted or somewhat stoloniferous. Stems 1°-2 1/2° high, 1-6-leaved below the inflorescence; leaf-blades 1 1/2"-3" wide, ciliate, flat, tapering to a slender sharp tip; inflorescence diffusely paniculate or corymbose, the few lower bracts foliose, and the lowermost branch often inserted 4' below the next or more; flowers in clusters of 3-8, the bractlets ovate, entire or sparingly denticulate above, about one-third as long as the perianth; perianth about 1 1/4" in length, its parts from reddish brown with pale margins to dirty white, ovate-lanceolate, acute, the outer about one-fifth shorter than the inner; capsule ovoid, acuminate, barely equalling the perianth; seed obliquely ovoid, about 3/5" long.

A European species, naturalized at Riverdale, N. Y., and at Niagara Falls, Ontario.

3. Juncoides Parviflorum (Ehrh.) Coville. Small-Flowered Wood-Rush

Fig. 1215

Juncus parviflorus Ehrh. Beitr. 6: 139. 1791. Luzula parviflora Desv. Journ. de Bot. 1: 144. 1808. J. parviflorum Coville, Contr. Nat. Herb. 4: 209. 1893.

Stems single or few in a tuft, stoloniferous, erect, 10'-30' high, 2-5-leaved; leaves glabrous, their blades 1 1/2"-5" wide, tapering to a sharp or blunt apex; inflorescence a nodding decompound panicle, commonly 1 1/2'-4,' high, its lowest bract foliose, seldom more than one-fourth the length of the panicle; flowers borne singly, or sometimes 2 or 3 together, on the branches of the inflorescence, on slender pedicels; bractlets ovate, entire or rarely somewhat lacerate, perianth 3/4"-1 1/4" in length, its parts ovate, acuminate, slightly exceeded by the green to brown ovoid capsule; seed narrowly oblong, 1/2"-3/4" in length, attached to its placenta by slender implexed fibers.

Labrador to Alaska, Massachusetts, New York and Minnesota: in the mountains to Arizona and California. Also in Europe and Asia.

4. Juncoides Spicatum (L.) Kuntze. Spiked Wood-Rush

Fig. 1216

J uncus spicatus L. Sp. PI. 330. 1753.

Juncoides spicatum Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 725. 1891.

Luzula spicata DC. Fl. Fr. 3: 161. 1805.

Closely tufted, without rootstoeks. Stems erect, 4-16' high, distantly 1-3-leaved, tapering to a filiform summit; leaf-blades 1/2"-1 1/2" broad, often involute, especially above, tapering to a sharp apex, sparingly webby, especially at the base; inflorescence a nodding, spike-like, often interrupted panicle, commonly 1/2'-1 in length, usually exceeded by its lowest involute-foliose bract; bractlets ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, equalling the perianth, sparingly lacerate; perianth brown, with hyaline margins, I -1 1/2" long, its parts lanceolate, aristate-acuminate; capsule broadly ovoid, bluntly acute, about two-thirds as long as the perianth; seed narrowly and obliquely obovoid, about 1 1/2" long.

Labrador to Quebec and Alaska; mountains of New England and New York; south in the western mountains to Colorado and California. Also in Europe and Asia.