| Section 5 » Order Juncales » Family Juncaceae |
Show/Hide Synonym
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| Juncus biflorus | < | Juncus biflorus | Gleason and Cronquist (1991) | | | Juncus biflorus | < | Juncus biflorus | Gleason (1952) | | | Juncus biflorus | < | Juncus biflorus | | (also see J. longii) | | Juncus biflorus | < | Juncus marginatus | Flora of North America (1993b, 1997, 2000, 2002a, 2002b, 2003a, 2004b, 2005, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c, 2007a, 2009, 2010) | | | Juncus biflorus | < | Juncus marginatus | Godfrey and Wooten (1979, 1981) | | | Juncus biflorus | < | Juncus marginatus | Wunderlin & Hansen Flora of Florida (3) | | | Juncus biflorus | < | Juncus marginatus | | (also see J. biflorus and J. longii) | | Juncus biflorus | = | Juncus aristulatus var. biflorus | Small (1933, 1938) | | | Source: Weakley's Flora |
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| Author | Elliott | |
| Distribution | Coastal Plain, Sandhills, Piedmont, and scattered in the low Mountains.
MA to MO, south to southern FL, TX, Mex., and C.A.; reportedly disjunct to S.A. | |
| Abundance | Frequent to common in the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, apparently frequent in the Piedmont, and scarce and local in the lower Mountain elevations. | |
| Habitat | Moist (to dryish) sandy soil of Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass savannas and flatwoods, blackwater streamhead ecotones, wet maritime grasslands, interdune swales, meadows, seepages in the Piedmont and Mountains, roadside ditches. Responds well to recurring fire. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late June - early October. | |
| Identification | Only 3 NC rushes have conspicuously flat leaf blades: biflorus, longii, and marginatus. Long's Rush (J. longii) occurs in wetter, muckier habitats, has narrower horizontal rhizomes, and has more congested inflorecences. Grassleaf Rush (J. marginatus) typically has shorter stems, more flowers per head, and narrower leaf blades (see the Weakley [2025] key for details). The drawing in Godfrey and Wooten (1979) of marginatus actually is biflorus. As rushes go, this species -- often growing to 3 feet tall -- is rather handsome and sure to attract attention. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Some authors, such as FNA and Godfrey & Wooten (1979), lump the 3 flat-leaved species under J. marginatus, but this ignores morphological and ecological differences. See Knapp and Naczi (2008) for a taxonomic revision.
NOTE on Juncus: These "grasslike" or "sedgelike" plants occur in most habitats, especially where moist or wet. They can immediately be told from grasses and sedges by the presence of 6 tepals (petal-like) that surround the fruit. These tepals can be thought of as analogous to sepals and petals of, say, lilies or trilliums. Most species have brown, chestnut, or reddish tepals and dark brown fruits. The flowers occur in few- to many-flowered heads. Leaves are nearly all basal and round in cross-section. Stems are unbranched, except for the inflorescence. Fruits are termed capsules and contain many tiny seeds. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Large Grassleaf Rush | |
| State Rank | S5 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
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