General: Perennial, loosely tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems erect, 15-75 cm long.
Leaves: Located on the lower 1/3 of the stem, narrow, flattened, lacking cross-walls; sheaths open, with short (not more than 1 mm long), wider than long, membranaceous to nearly so, whitish, opaque, ear-shaped lobes.
Flowers: Inflorescence terminal, 5-15 cm long, the bracts ascending, longer than the inflorescence, perianth segments green, 3-4 mm long, pointed, the inner about the same length as the outer; stamens 6; anthers 0.4-0.6 mm long, shorter than the filaments.
Fruits: Capsules, broadly rounded, 1-celled, about the same length as the perianth segments; seeds ellipsoid, about 0.4-0.7 mm long, lacking tail-like appendages.
Notes: This is a member of the Juncus tenuis complex, whose taxonomy and distribution in BC has not been studied.
Dry to moist pastures, mostly on disturbed soil in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; infrequent in S BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ and NS and S to PA, TN, LA, TX, NM, AZ, ID and WA.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
