Juncus tenuis Willd.
slender rush (poverty rush)
Juncaceae (Rush family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
slender rush (poverty rush)
Juncaceae (Rush family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
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 (0.5-1.5 mm wide), flattened, lacking cross-walls; sheaths open, up to 6 mm long, longer than wide, thin, translucent, pointed, ear-shaped lobes.
Flowers:
Inflorescence terminal, 5-15 cm long, with few to numerous flowers, the flowers each with 2 involucral bractlets, the bracts ascending and longer than the inflorescence; perianth segments green, 3-4.5 mm long, pointed, the inner about the same length as the outer; stamens 6; anthers 0.6-0.8 mm long, shorter than the filaments.
Fruits:
Capsules, broadly cylindrical, rounded, 1-celled, about the same length as the perianth segments; seeds ellipsoid, about 0.4-0.6 mm long, lacking tail-like appendages.
Notes:
This species complex was treated as a single, variable species in Ceska (1994) but in this manual I have segregated Juncus confusus, J. dudleyi, and J. interior as separate species.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Juncus tenuis
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)
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)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1109 | 706 | 1680 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
7 | 0 | 23 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
81 | 14 | 208 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 4 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
16 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(1), CWH(6), ESSF(3), MS(1), SBS(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to moist meadows, pastures, roadsides and ditches, mostly on disturbed soil in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in BC south of 55degreeN, infrequent in N BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to ME, MA, PA, NC, FL, MS, TX, NM, AZ and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Juncus dichotomus var. platyphyllus Wiegand
Juncus macer Gray
Juncus platyphyllus (Wiegand) Fernald
Juncus tenuis var. congestus Engelm.
Juncus tenuis var. multicornis E. Mey.
Juncus tenuis var. platyphyllus (Wiegand) F.J. Herm.
Juncus tenuis var. tenuis
Juncus tenuis var. williamsii Fernald