Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Juncus tenuis
FAMILY
Juncaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Path Rush is a plant that everyone has seen, whether they know it or not. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Juncus tenuis
FAMILY
Juncaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Juncus tenuis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 040-01-006:
Juncus tenuis FAMILY Juncaceae
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Juncus tenuis var. tenuis
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Juncus tenuis var. williamsii
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Juncus tenuis
COMMON NAME:
Path Rush, Poverty Rush, Slender Rush
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_jute_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_jute_007_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_jute_011_lvd
)
Gill Newberry gn05_juncus_temuis
May
Leaves basal, narrow, 0.05" wide, flat or often rolled, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm200531_5497
May Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm200531_5498
May Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210513_0317
May Oconee County SC
Boone's Creek Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210513_0318
May Oconee County SC
Boone's Creek Preserve
The auricle at mouth of leaf sheath is pale and extends well past the mouth, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm190604_8935
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Sepals and petals alike, narrow and pointed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm190604_8937
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
A loosely branched inflorescence, each branch with 2-6 flowers, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm190704_9785
July Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Juncus tenuis
FAMILY
Juncaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Juncus tenuis
FAMILY
Juncaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Juncus tenuis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 040-01-006:
Juncus tenuis
FAMILY
Juncaceae
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Juncus tenuis var. tenuis
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Juncus tenuis var. williamsii
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Juncus tenuis
774
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Dry or moist soil along roadsides and paths, fields, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal (1)2-3
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Cespitose [growing in dense tufts, clumping], with densely branching rhizomes
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Tepals greenish
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals in two whorls of 3
6 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Inflorescence appears terminal, its bract not resembling a continuation of culm
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p160
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p396
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992) p064
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".