Rush Family:-

Rushes are "Hairless grass-like or sedge-like plants, mostly perennials, usually erect and tufted, growing in badly drained places. Stems sometimes filled with white pith. Leaves sheathing, very narrow, often rigid, sometimes hollow with cross-partitions inside. Flowers small, green, brown or pale yellow; usually in t " from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978

Rush Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Alpine Rush

Juncus alpinoarticulatus

(Juncus alpinus)

July-September

This montane, rhizomatous herb occurs in rather open wet turf in marshes and flushes and by lakes and streams, usually on base-rich soil and often over limestone. From 150 m near Pitlochry (E. Perth) to 880 m on the Ben Alder range (Westerness). It is rare in meadows and wet stony places in hill districts in Teesdale and Scotland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Baltic Rush

Juncus balticus

June-August

It usually grows in dune-slacks and other damp areas in maritime sand, mud or peat, frequently beside river estuaries, in open or closed vegetation. The plant is rhizomatous and rarely forms dense patches. It also occurs inland in N.E. Scotland on river-terraces or flood plains or in marshes. Generally sea level, but reaching 405 m on Slochd Mor (Easterness).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bulbous Rush

Juncus bulbosus

June-September

A very variable herb, ranging from tufted, terrestrial plants to submerged, floating aquatics, often rooting at the nodes and with proliferating flowers. It occurs in or by water and in open, often seasonally wet habitats, in acidic to neutral soils. Unusually, it grows in some calcareous turloughs in the Burren. 0-960 m (Caenlochan, Angus).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Chestnut Rush

Juncus castaneus

(Juncus leucochlamys)

July

This short, tufted perennial herb often occurs in species-rich localities with one or both of Juncus biglumis and Juncus triglumis, although it is more characteristic of wetter and more calcareous habitats, and can better withstand competition from grassy vegetation. From 610 m on Sgurr na Lapaich (Easterness) to 990 m on Ben Lawers (Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Compact Rush

Juncus conglomeratus

May-July, starting appreciably earlier

It tends to occur in slightly drier habitats than Juncus effusus, avoiding the wetter places and the more acidic soils, being characteristic of damp fields, ditches, open woodland and margins of still or running water. 0-840 (Breadalbanes, Mid Perth), and 845 m on Great Dun Fell (Westmorland). It is rare in chalk and limestone districts

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Dwarf Rush

(Leafybract Dwarf Rush)

Juncus capitatus

(Juncus physcomitrioides, Juncus stellatus, Juncus tenellus, Juncus triandrus, Juncus ericetorum, Juncus gracilis)

May-June

A diminutive, autumn-germinating annual of barish ground often kept open by standing water in winter and always droughted in summer. It grows around serpentine rock outcrops, on ledges of granite sea-cliffs, in dune-slacks and sometimes in quarries.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Dwarf Toad Rush

Juncus minutulus

June-July

Sand (usually on sandy soil)

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Fen Rush (Syn. Blunt-flowered Rush)

Juncus subnodulosus

July-September

A strong, rhizomatous perennial herb growing in dense stands in fens, marshes, wet meadows, ditches and by water, usually in more base-rich conditions than any of the other jointed-rushes (sect. Septati); it also sometimes occurs in brackish water.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Fine-leaved Rush
(Somerset Rush)

Juncus subulatus

June-July

A rhizomatous plant forming large dominant patches. In N. Somerset the plant grows in brackish reed-swamp in a dune system; in Stirlingshire, it occurs in a pool on reclaimed dockland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Frog Rush

Juncus ranarius

June-July

Saltmarsh and Grassland (often in saltmarshes and grassy places)

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Hard Rush

(Blue Arrows, Blue Rush)

Juncus inflexus

(Juncus glaucus)

June-August

A clump-forming perennial herb of wet places by rivers, ponds and lakes, and in marshes, wet fields, ditches and occasionally dune-slacks and fens. It is almost always on base-rich soils, frequently on heavy clays, where it replaces Juncus effusus. 0-550 m (Mattergill Sike, Westmorland).

Flower from Isle of Wight. Photo from BritishFlora

Flowers from Isle of Wight. Photo from BritishFlora

Foliage from Isle of Wight. Photo from BritishFlora

Form from Isle of Wight. Photo from BritishFlora

Heath Rush

Juncus squarrosus

June-July

A wiry, tufted perennial herb which is characteristic of wet peaty heath and moorland, raised and valley mires and upland flushes on acidic substrates. 0-1040 m (Carrantuohill, S. Kerry).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Jointed Rush

Juncus articulatus

June-August

This very variable, erect to decumbent, clumped to extensively rhizomatous herb is found in a wide range of wet or damp habitats, both freshwater and brackish. It is characteristic of damp fields, marshes, ditches, flushes, rutted woodland rides, margins of ponds, lakes and streams and dune-slacks, avoiding only the most acid soils. 0-810 m (Great Dun Fell, Westmorland).

Foliage from Berkshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Flowers from Berkshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Lakeside Rush

(Thread Rush)

Juncus filiformis

June-August

A rhizomatous perennial herb, restricted in Britain to the edges of lakes or reservoirs, mostly in a narrow fringing zone of periodically flooded wet marshy pasture or more open ground.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Leafy Toad Rush

(Leafy Rush)

Juncus foliosus

June-July

This spring-germinating annual is the most robust member of the J. bufonius aggregate, occurring in wet fields, marshes and ditches and on the muddy margins of lakes and ponds, sometimes with J. bufonius sens. str. Although often found near the coast, this species seems to shun brackish water.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Pygmy Rush

(Frog Rush)

Juncus mutabilis

(Juncus ambiguus)

June

This dwarf, annual, spring-germinating member of the Juncus bufonius aggregate occurs in bare damp brackish places near the coast and sometimes inland, often with Juncus bufonius. It is typical of coastal mud- and sand-flats above high-water mark and of the margins of saline and brackish lakes, and is also found on bare mud and waste ground associated with inland salt-flashes and salt-workings, and on highly basic lime-waste tips.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Round-fruited Rush

Juncus compressus

June-July

A compact to spreading, rhizomatous perennial herb found in marshes, wet meadows and pastures, often near the sea and sometimes in brackish conditions, occasionally with Juncus gerardii.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Saltmarsh Rush

(Black Grass)

Juncus gerardii

June-July

This species is confined to saline habitats, mostly in the uppermost parts of coastal saltmarshes, but also around coastal rock pools, in spray-drenched cliff-top turf and at saline sites inland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Scottish Rush

(Three-leaved Rush)

Same as Three-leaved Rush below

Juncus trifidus

June-August

A small, densely tufted perennial herb found in bare or bryophyte- or lichen-rich places on mountains on shallow soil or in rock crevices, on both acidic and calcareous substrata. It is one of the principal angiosperms of wind-swept, often almost snow-free plateau edges over c. 1000 m, but it also occupies sites that are snow-covered for several months. From 240 m on Ronas Hill (Shetland) to 1310 m in the Cairngorms.

Sea Rush

(Seaside Rush, Sparto)

Juncus maritimus

July-August

A rhizomatous, clump-forming perennial herb of saltmarshes and saline dune-slacks. It also occurs in areas subject to freshwater seepage on low, exposed rocky cliff-tops and stony sea-loch shores. It is tolerant of a wide range of salinities and soil moisture, occurring at all levels in saltmarshes and in both silty and sandy substrates.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Sharp-flowered Rush

Juncus acutiflorus

July-September

This is usually tall and erect, and more extensively rhizomatous than Juncus articulatus. It occurs in wet or damp habitats on acidic soils, frequently at a lower pH than is tolerated by Juncus articulatus, particularly in damp meadows and pastures, marshes, bogs, wet heathland, and by ditches and ponds.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Sharp Rush

(Spiny Rush)

Juncus acutus

June

A tall, tussock-forming perennial herb typically occurring in saline or brackish dune-slacks, in the uppermost levels of dry saltmarsh and on shingle banks. There is often little competing vegetation.

Form from Devon. Photo from BritishFlora

Flowers from Devon. Photo from BritishFlora

Slender Rush

(Path Rush)

Juncus tenuis

June-September

A slender, tufted perennial herb found in damp open ground by roads and lakes, on paths and in woodland and forest rides. 0-430 m

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Soft Rush

Juncus effusus

June-August

It occurs by rivers, ponds, lakes, in marshes, wet fields, ditches and open wet woodland. It avoids base-rich soils and is most characteristic of sandy and peaty substrates, especially open heaths and moors, where it can be dominant.

Flowers from Berkshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Form from Berkshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Form

Juvenile Seedhead from Berkshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Ripe Seedhead from Berkshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Form

Three-flowered Rush

Juncus triglumis

June-July

A short, tufted, montane perennial herb of base-rich damp rocky or gravelly places, flushes and small marshes with little competing vegetation. It occupies the same habitats as the rarer Juncus biglumis, and often grows near or with it, but is less restricted to high altitudes, descending from 1065 m on Snowdon (Caerns.) to, formerly, 60 m in Shetland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Three-leaved Rush

Same as Scottish Rush above

Juncus trifidus

June-July

A small, densely tufted perennial herb found in bare or bryophyte- or lichen-rich places on mountains on shallow soil or in rock crevices, on both acidic and calcareous substrata. It is one of the principal angiosperms of wind-swept, often almost snow-free plateau edges over c. 1000 m, but it also occupies sites that are snow-covered for several months. From 240 m on Ronas Hill (Shetland) to 1310 m in the Cairngorms.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Toad Rush

Juncus bufonius

May-September

An annual of habitats where the water-table is at least seasonally high and there is little competition, including the margins of ponds, lakes, streams and rivers, marshes and dune-slacks, and rarely acid bogs. It also grows around brackish lakes and on estuarine mud- and sand-flats, and is often a weed of disturbed ground, including tracks and roadsides.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Two-flowered Rush

Juncus biglumis

June-July

This short, tufted perennial herb occurs in damp rocky or gravelly places, ranging from well-watered rock faces and flushes to marshes with short open vegetation. It is confined to base-rich, but relatively competition-free, habitats in species-rich localities. From 460 m on Rum (N. Ebudes) to 1100 m in the Breadalbanes (Mid Perth) and Aonach Beag (Westerness).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Plant Crib on Juncus by the BSBI is:-

A useful account of identification of the British and Irish species, including many useful illustrations, is given by

T. A. Cope (1990) A guide to British rushes and woodrushes. In: A guide to some difficult plants. Pp 68-89. Wild Flower Society, London.