1. JuNCUS, Tourn. RUSH. BOG-RUSH.

Capsule many-seeded, 3-celled, or 1-celled by the placentae not reaching the axis. Stamens when 3 opposite the 3 outer sepals.--Chiefly perennials, and in wet soil or water, with pithy or hollow and simple (rarely branching) stems, and panicled or cl.u.s.tered small (greenish or brownish) flowers, chiefly in summer. Plant never hairy. (The cla.s.sical name, from _jungo_, to join, alluding to the use of the stems for bands.)

-- 1. _Stems leafless and scape-like, from matted running rootstocks, sheathed at base; the sheaths sometimes bearing terete knotless leaves like the scape; flowers in sessile apparently lateral panicles, the involucral leaf being similar to and continuing the scape._--JUNCUS proper.

[*] _Flowers solitary on the pedicels or ultimate ramifications of the panicle._

[+] _Sheaths at base of the stem leafless._

[++] _Stamens 3._

1. J. effusus, L. (COMMON or SOFT RUSH.) Scape soft and pliant (2--4 high); inner sheaths awned; panicle diffusely much branched, many-flowered; flowers small (1" long), greenish; sepals lanceolate, very acute, as long as the narrow triangular-obovate retuse and pointless greenish-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style very short; seeds small (about " long), with short pale points.--Marshy ground, very common. (Eu.)--Var. CONGLOMERaTUS, Engelm.

Scape more distinctly striate; panicle closely crowded; capsule short-pointed. In sphagnous swamps.

[++][++] _Stamens 6._

2. J. filiformis, L. Scape very slender (1--2 high), pliant; panicle few-flowered, almost simple; flowers 1" long; sepals lanceolate, the inner a little shorter and less acute, longer than the broadly ovate obtuse but mucronate greenish capsule; anthers shorter than the filaments; style very short; seed (less than {1/3}" long) short-pointed at both ends, indistinctly reticulated.--N. Eng. to Mich., Neb., and northward. (Eu.)

3. J. Smithii, Engelm. Scape rather slender (2--3 high); panicle few-flowered, nearly simple; flowers brown (1" long); outer sepals lanceolate, acute, the inner a little shorter, obtusish, shorter than the broadly ovate rather triangular acute deep chestnut-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style short; seeds large ({1/3}" long or more), obtuse, short-appendaged at both ends, many-ribbed and reticulated.--Sphagnous swamps, on Broad Mt. and in Lebanon Co., Penn.

4. J. Balticus, Dethard, var. littoralis, Engelm. Scape rigid (2--3 high); panicle loose; flowers larger (2" long), chestnut-brown with green; sepals ovate-lanceolate, the outer sharp-pointed, the inner obtusish, as long as the elliptical rather triangular obtuse and mucronate deep brown capsule; anthers much longer than the broad filaments; style about the length of the ovary; seeds rather large ("

long or more), nearly obtuse, delicately ribbed and cross lined.--Sandy sh.o.r.es, Newf. to Ma.s.s., west to Penn., along the Great Lakes, and westward.--Var. MONTa.n.u.s, Engelm. Sepals nearly equal; anthers 4 times longer than the filament; capsule ovate-pyramidal, angled, beaked; seeds smaller, narrower, apiculate.--Minn., west and northward.

[+][+] _Innermost sheaths leaf-bearing; stamens 6._

5. J. setaceus, Rostkovius. Scape slender (1--3 high); panicle loose, rather few-flowered; flowers greenish (2" long); sepals lanceolate, sharp-pointed, especially the 3 shining exterior ones, spreading in fruit, as long as the nearly globose beak-pointed greenish or light-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style conspicuous; seeds ({1/3}" long) almost globose, ribbed and cross-lined.--Va. to Fla., west to Mo. and La.

[*][*] _Flowers in cl.u.s.ters, 6-androus; innermost sheaths at base of stem leaf-bearing._

6. J. Rmeria.n.u.s, Scheele. Scape stout and rigid (2--3 high), its apex as well as the leaves pungent; panicle compound, open and spreading, brown; 3--6 greenish or light-brown flowers (1" long) in a cl.u.s.ter; outer sepals lanceolate, sharp-pointed, longer than the obtusish inner ones, as long as the elliptical rather triangular obtuse mucronate brown capsule; anthers much longer than the broad filaments; styles shorter than the ovary; seeds ({1/3}" long) oval, obtuse, very delicately ribbed.--Brackish marshes, N. J. to Fla. and Tex.

7. J. maritimus, L. Resembling the last, but with a rigid contracted green panicle, an ovary attenuated into a style of nearly its own length, a greenish acute capsule which usually exceeds the acute sepals, and seeds with distinct tails and stronger ribs.--Known in this country only from Coney Island, N. Y., where it is apparently indigenous. (Eu.)

-- 2. _Stems simple (rarely branched), leafy at base or throughout; leaves flat, or somewhat terete or setaceous and channelled, never knotted; panicle or head terminal._--GRa.s.sY-LEAVED JUNCI.

[*] _Flowers in close heads (produced in late summer)._

[+] _Leaves thread-like, hollow; stamens 6; seeds few, large and caudate; the single head (sometimes 2) 1--4-flowered._

8. J. stgius, L. Stems slender (6--16' high) from slender branching rootstocks, 1--3-leaved below, naked above; heads 1 or rarely 2, of 3--4-flowers, about the length of the sheathing scarious awl-pointed bract; flowers pale and reddish (2--3" long); sepals lanceolate, the inner obtusish, the length of the oblong ac.u.minate capsule, as long as the slender stamens; filaments many times longer than the oblong anthers; recurved stigmas shorter than the style; seeds oblong, with a very loose coat prolonged at both ends (1" long).--Peat-bogs, Newf. to northern N. Y., west to Mich. and N. Minn. (Eu.)

9. J. trifidus, L. Stems densely tufted from matted creeping rootstocks, erect (5--10' high), sheathed and mostly leafless at base, 2--3-leaved at the summit, the upper thread-like leaves subtending the sessile head; flowers brown (1--2" long); sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute, equalling or rather shorter than the ovate beak-pointed deep brown capsule; anthers much longer than the filaments; seeds few, oblong, angled (1"

long), short-tailed.--Alpine summits of N. Eng. and N. Y., and far northward; also in N. J. (Eu.)

[+][+] _Leaves flat and gra.s.s-like; stamens 3; stems flattened, simple, leafy._

10. J. repens, Michx. Stems ascending (4--6' high) from a fibrous annual root, at length creeping or floating; leaves short, linear, those of the stem nearly opposite and fascicled; heads few in a loose leafy panicle, 3--12-flowered; flowers green (3" long); sepals rigid, lance-subulate, slender-pointed, the 3 outer as long as the linear triangular obtuse capsule, the inner much longer; stamens as long as the outer sepals; filaments many times longer than the oblong anthers; seeds small ({1/5}" long), obovate, slightly pointed, very delicately ribbed and cross-lined.--Miry banks, Md. to Fla. and La.

11. J. marginatus, Rostk. Stem erect, from a bulbous and stoloniferous base (1--3 high); leaves long-linear; heads 3--8-flowered, panicled; flowers purplish with green (1" long); sepals oblong, the 3 outer acute and slightly awned, the inner longer, mostly obtuse, as long as the almost globular scarcely mucronate capsule; stamens exceeding the outer sepals; purple anthers shorter than the filaments; style very short; seeds (--{1/3}" long) slender, pointed at both ends and strongly ribbed.--Moist sandy places, S. New Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and Tex.--Var. PAUCICAPITaTUS, Engelm., has few large 8--15-flowered heads; and var. BIFLRUS, Engelm., has numerous small 2--3-flowered heads in much-branched panicles.

[*][*] _Flowers solitary, panicled; stamens 6._

[+] _Stems slender, simple, tufted, leafy below; root perennial (fl.

early in summer)._

[++] _Seeds tail-pointed at both ends._

12. J. Vaseyi, Engelm. Stems rigid (1--2 high); leaves nearly terete, very slightly channelled on the inner side; panicle longer than the involucral leaf, loose; flowers few, often one-sided, greenish or light brown (2" long or more); sepals lanceolate, acute, appressed, shorter than the oblong and retuse green-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style very short; seeds slender (--{2/3}" long), closely ribbed.--N. Maine (_Pringle_); Mich. to Iowa and westward.

13. J. Greenii, Oakes & Tuckerm. Stems rigid (1--2 high); leaves nearly terete, very deeply channelled (almost involute) on the inner side; panicle usually much shorter than the princ.i.p.al erect involucral leaf, dense, the numerous flowers often one-sided (1" long); sepals lanceolate, acute, light greenish-brown, appressed, shorter than the ovoid-oblong obtuse greenish-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style very short; seeds ovoid ({1/3}--{2/5}" long), ribbed and delicately cross-lined.--Sandy coast of N. Eng., N. Y., and N. J., and on the east sh.o.r.e of Lake Michigan.

[++][++] _Seeds merely apiculate at both ends._

14. J. tenuis, Willd. Stem wiry (9--18' high); leaves flat or channelled; panicle shorter than the involucral leaves, loose, or rarely crowded; flowers green (2" long or more); sepals lanceolate, very acute, spreading in fruit, longer than the ovoid retuse scarcely pointed green capsule; anthers nearly equal to the filaments; style very short; seeds small (about " long), delicately ribbed and cross-lined.--Fields and roadsides, very common. (Eu.)--Var. SECuNDUS, Engelm.; flowers smaller, secund along the incurved branches. N. Eng. to Penn. and Del.--Var. CONGeSTUS, Engelm.; branches contracted into a head and the flowers darker-colored. Minn. and westward.

15. J. dichotomus, Ell. Stems rigid (1--2 high) from a tumid base; leaves filiform, nearly terete, slightly grooved on the inner side; panicle loose, often with 1-sided forked branches, mostly longer than the involucral leaf; flowers greenish (2" long or more); sepals lanceolate, sharp-pointed, spreading in fruit, as long as the globular beaked light mahogany-colored capsule; anthers nearly as long as the filaments; style short; seeds small ({1/5}--" long), coa.r.s.ely cross-lined.--Low sandy grounds, N. J. to Fla.

16. J. Gerardi, Loisel. (BLACK-GRa.s.s.) Stems scarcely flattened, rigid (1--2 high); panicle contracted, usually longer than the bracteal leaf; flowers chestnut-brown with green (1" long); sepals oval-oblong, obtuse, incurved, as long as the oval obtuse and mucronate capsule; anthers much longer than the short filaments; style as long as the ovary; seeds (nearly {1/3}" long) obovate, delicately ribbed and cross-lined.--Salt marshes; common along the coast and in W. New York; rare about the Great Lakes. (Eu.)

[+][+] _Stems branched, diffuse, leafy; root annual, fibrous._

17. J. bufnius, L. Stems low and slender (3--9' high), leafy, often branched from the base; panicle spreading, mostly with one-sided dichotomous branches; flowers remote, greenish (2--3" long); sepals linear-lanceolate, awl-pointed, the 3 outer much exceeding the inner and the oblong obtuse capsule; stamens short; filaments scarcely longer than the anthers, seeds elliptical, obtuse ({1/5}--{1/6}" long).--Low grounds, by roadsides; common. (Eu.)

-- 3. _Stems leafy; leaves terete or laterally flattened, more or less distinctly knotted by internal transverse part.i.tions; panicle terminal, with flowers chiefly in heads._--KNOTTY-LEAVED JUNCI.

[*] _Seeds barely pointed, not caudate._

[+] _Flowers solitary or 2 together, panicled; stamens 6._

18. J. pelocarpus, E. Meyer. Stems slender and erect from a slender running rootstock (6--18' high), bearing few thread-like slightly knotted leaves, branching above into a compound spreading panicle, bearing the flowers in the forks and along one side of the branches; often with the flowers or in place of them are tufts of leaves; flowers small (1--1" long), greenish with red; sepals oblong, obtuse, the 3 inner ones longer, but shorter than the oblong taper-beaked, 1-celled capsule; anthers much longer than the filaments; style slender; seeds (" long) obovate, short-pointed.--Sandy, wet or swampy places, Newf.

to Fla., west along the Great Lakes to Minn. The proliferous plants are usually sterile and much larger, with larger diffuse panicles.--Var.

SuBTILIS, Engelm. Creeping or floating, with a single pair of flowers at the end of the short stems.--Somerset Co., Maine (_C. E. Smith_); Canada.

[+][+] _Heads numerous, of 3--12-flowers (rarely more); in early summer._

[++] _Stamens 6._

19. J. articulatus, L. Stems ascending or erect (9--15' high), tufted from a short creeping rootstock, with 1 or 2 slender leaves; panicle short, spreading, the crowded heads 3--8-flowered; flowers brown, rarely pale (1--1" long); sepals lance-oblong, acute or mucronate, or the 3 inner obtuse and a little longer, shorter than the ovate-oblong acute or abruptly mucronate-pointed incompletely 3-celled commonly deep chestnut-brown shining capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; ovary attenuate into a short style; seeds (less than {1/3}" long) obovate, attenuate below, abruptly pointed above.--Wet grounds, Newf. to Del., west to western N. Y. and Mich. (Eu.)

20. J. alpnus, Villars, var. insignis, Fries. Stems erect (9--18' high) from a creeping rootstock, with 1 or 2 slender leaves; panicle meagre, with erect branches bearing distant greenish or light-brown heads, each of 3--6 flowers (1--1" long); sepals oblong, obtuse, the outer mucronate or cuspidate and usually longer than the rounded inner ones, as long as or shorter than the obtuse short-pointed incompletely 3-celled light-brown capsule; anthers as long as the filaments; style short; seeds ({1/3}" or more in length) spindle-shaped.--Wet sandy banks, L. Champlain, Cayuga Lake, along the Great Lakes, and far west and northward. (Eu.)

21. J. militaris, Bigel. Stem stout (2--4 high) from a thick creeping rootstock, bearing a solitary stout erect leaf (--3 long) below the middle, which overtops the crowded and rather contracted panicle; heads numerous, 5--12- (rarely 25-) flowered; flowers brownish (1" long); sepals lanceolate, the outer awl-pointed, as long as the ovate-oblong triangular taper-beaked 1-celled capsule; anthers longer than the filaments; ovary attenuate into a slender style; seeds (--{1/3}" long) globose-obovate, obtuse, abruptly pointed.--In bogs and streams, Maine to Md. Sometimes producing, in flowing water, numberless capillary submersed leaves, 2--3 long, from the rootstock.

[++][++] _Stamens 3._

22. J. ac.u.minatus, Michx. Stems tufted, erect, slender (1--2 long), bearing about 2 leaves and a very loose spreading panicle; heads rather few and large, 5--many-flowered, greenish, at length straw-colored or darker; sepals lance-awl-shaped, sharp-pointed, equal (1--2" long), as long as the triangular-prismatic short-pointed 1-celled straw-colored or light brown capsule; anthers a little shorter than the filaments; style almost none; seeds small ({1/5}--{1/4}" long), acute at both ends, ribbed-reticulated.--N. Eng. to Ga., Minn. and Tex. May, June. Very variable. Heads often proliferous in autumn.

Var. debilis, Engelm. Stems slender (9--18' high); heads green, 3--6-flowered, in a loose panicle; flowers smaller (1--1" long); capsule longer than the sepals.--Wet sandy soil, N. J. to S. C., west to Ohio, Mo., and Miss. Stem sometimes dec.u.mbent and rooting.