Great Basin Naturalist Volume 46 Number 2 Article 32 4-30-1986 Utah flora: Juncaceae Sherel Goodrich U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ogden, Utah Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn Recommended Citation Goodrich, Sherel (1986) "Utah flora: Juncaceae," Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 46 : No. 2 , Article 32. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol46/iss2/32 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Basin Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. UTAH FLORA: JUNCACEAE Sherel Goodrich' Abstract— A revision of the rush family, Juncaceae is presented for the state of Utah. Included are 28 taxa in two genera. Keys to genera and species are provided, along with detailed descriptions, distributional data, and other comments. No new taxa or combinations are proposed. This paper is another in a series of works Juncaceae leading to a definitive treatment of the flora of Rush Family Utah. The rush family as represented in Utah is rather small in comparison to some other Perennial or annual grasslike herbs; stems families, but plants of the family are abundant terete or flattened, not jointed, caespitose or throughout mesic and wet places of the state. arising singly or few together from rhizomes; Floral structures are reduced and uniform, leaves sheathing, alternate or all basal, mostly and identification often entails observation of 2-ranked, blades linear, sometimes much re- such minute features as tailed appendages on duced or lacking; inflorescence headlike to open seeds. However, the taxa seem quite well paniculate, subtended by an involucral bract; marked and mistakes in identification do not branches, heads, and pedicels often subtended seem so common as in some other families by bractlets; flowers bisexual (ours), sometimes with reduced and uniform floral features, such subtended by bracteoles borne at pedicel apices, as Salicaceae, Apiaceae, or Chenopodiaceae. directly below perianth; perianth much re- Members of the family are more or less duced, petals and sepals hardly if at all different comparable in palatibility to grasses and and referred to herein as tepals, tepals membra- sedges, and they are abundant enough to be of nous, rather scalelike, greenish or brownish, 6, importance to the grazing of domestic live- an outer and inner set with 3 each; stamens (3) 6; stock and to big game animals. pistal 1; ovary superior, with 1 or 3 chambers; As in preceding parts of this series, there fruit a capsule with 1 or 3 chambers. are two numbers at or near the end of the 11(1). Seeds numerous in each capsule; leaves glabrous, discussion of each taxon. The first number, in sheaths open; bracteoles subtending flowers Arabic numerals, indicates the number of entire or lacking Jtincus specimens from Utah seen in the preparation — Seeds 3 per capsule; leaf blades pubescent at of this work. The second number, in Roman least on margins near base except sometimes in numerals, indicates the number of specimens L. parviflora, sheaths closed; bracteoles sub- collected bv the author from the state. tending flowers entire to lacerate Luzula Acknowledgments JuNCusL. Rush Juncus Appreciation is expressed to the curators of the following herbaria of Utah: Brigham Young Perennial or annual grasshke herbs; stems University, Provo; Forest Service Herbarium, terete or flattened; leaf blades flat, strongly Ogden; Garrett Herbarium, University of Utah, folded, or terete, when terete sometimes hol- Salt Lake City; Intermountain Herbarium, Utah low with cross membranes at intervals (sep- State University, Logan. I appreciate the loan of tate) or reduced to a bristle or lacking; flowers specimens from each of these herbaria. These as described in family; seeds numerous, specimens are the basis of this work. minute, usually apiculate or tailed. Intermountain Research Station, Forest Service, U. S Department of Agricultu Ogden, Utah 84401 Present address: Vernal Ranger District, Ashley National Forest, Vernal, Utah 84078. 366 . April 1986 GOODRICH: Utah Flora, Juncaceae 367 1. Plants annual 2 8(7). Stems with bladeless leaves, uppermost and often lower sheaths tipped with bristle, — Plants perennial 3 a this not over 1 cm long; tails of seeds equal to or 2(1). Plants 0.5-2 cm tall, subscapose; scapose longer than body; tepals 5-8 mm long; cap- stem with 1 flower; stamens 3; leaves not over sules blunt and more or less retuse, equal to 0.5 cm long /. bryoides or a little shorter than tepals . /. drummondii — Plants 2-30 cm tall, not scapose; inflores- — Most of stems with a well-developed leaf- cence with 1-20 flowers; stamens 6; leaves blade on at least uppermost sheath, lower 0.5-10 cm long /. hufonius sheaths often tipped with a bristle; tails of 3(1). Flowers (1) 2-5 in solitary terminal head; seeds equal to or shorter than body; tepals leaves basal or nearly so, hollow, septate; and capsules various 9 plants tufted, without rhizomes, densely 9(8). Capsules ovoid, retuse at apex; tepals 4-5 3-19 cm tall, infrequent in Uinta Mountains (5.5) mm long; anthers less than 1 mm long; . thglumis J filaments longer than anthers /. hallii — Flowers either more numerous or not in a soli- — Capsules oblong, pointed; tepals 5-8 mm tary terminal head or plants otherwise different long; anthers 1.5-2 mm long; filaments only from above 4 about 0.3 mm long /. parryi 4(3). Stems with 0-2 (rarely more) leaf blades; blades 10(8). Tepals, at least outer ones, with incurved or borne on lower 1/5 of plant, not hollow, not sep- hooded tips, rather obtuse, 1.5-2.5 mm long; tate, sheaths sometimes ending in a rudimentar\' uppermost leaf often borne above midlength bristle instead of a leaf blade; flowers not in heads of stem 13 but borne singly, each subtended by 2 hyaline — Tepals with acute to acuminate erect tips, bracteoles; rhizomes lacking or short and plants 3-5 mm long; uppermost leaf borne on lower mostly caespitose except in/, arcticus 5 1/3 of stem II — Stems with 2 or more well-developed leafblades, 11(10). Capsules retuse at apex, completely at least uppermost blade borne above lower 1/3 3-loculed; panicles mostly less than 2 cm of plant or else hollow septate; flowers and borne long; tepals with hyaline margins extending in 1 or more heads and not individually sub- to apex of acute tip; plants montane, mostly tended by bracteoles; plants mostly with rhi- above 2,380 m /. confusus zomes (note:/, compressus and/, ^erardii with — Capsules blunt but not retuse, incompletely leafy stems and solitary', bracteolate flowers are 3-l()cuIed; panicles various but often over 2 keyed both ways) 12 cm long; at least outer tepals with hyaline 5(4). Leaves all reduced to bladeless sheaths, upper margins not extending to acuminate or acumi- ones sometimes with a bristle-tip, this not over 5 nate-attennuate tip; plants found mostly be- long; inflorescence with 5-75 or flow- mm more low 2,380 m /. tenuis ers; seed not tailed 6 12(4). Flowers borne singly, each subtended by 2 — At least uppermost le;if of most stems with a bracteoles; pedicels sometimes also sub- well-developed leal blade well ()\er 10 mm long, tended by bractlets; tepals with incurved or or, if leaves all bladeless reduced to sheaths (J hooded tips, 1.5-2.5 mm long 13 drwnmondii), inflorescence with only 1-3 flow- — Flowers borne in I-many heads, not sub- ers and seeds tailed 7 tended immediately by bracteoles; pedicels 6(5). Involucral bract about as long or longer than usually subtended by bractlets; tepals, at stem and inflorescence appearing at or below least outer ones, with erect or spreading tips, midlength of plant; stems seldom o\er 1 mm as short or longer than above 14 thick, somewhat tufted; plants of Uinta Moun- 13(12). Anthers about 3 times longer than filaments; tains above 2,950 m, rather rare .. J.filifonnvi capsule ellipsoid-ovoid, equal or slightly ex- — Involucral bract mostly shorter than stem and ceeding tepals; plants sometimes over 40 cm inflorescence appearing above midlength of tall, known in Utah from a single collection plant; stems often over 1 mm thick, mostly aris- from a hot spring in Salt Lake County ing singly or few together from robust dark rhi- /. gerardii zomes; plants widespread /. arcticus — Anthers scarsely longer than filaments; cap- 7(5). Seeds tailed at each end, tails 1/2 as long to sule globose-ovoid, distinctly exserted; plants longer than body; inflorescence with 1-6 flow- 20-40 cm tall, known from flood plains of ers; stem-leaves with blades lacking or reduced Green and Colorado rivers /. compressus to a bristle or uppermost 1(2) with a well-devel- 14(12). Leafblades flat or strongly folded and appear- oped blade; plants mostlv found above 2,620 m. ing flat at least toward base, not terete, not ' 8 hollow; sheaths with hyaline margins; cap- tepals — Seeds apiciilate but not tailed; inflorescence sules not exserted beyond 15 with (1)6-50 or more flowers; some of lower — Leafblades terete and hollow, if only toward stem-leaves commonly with well-developed tip, then sheaths without hyaline margins and blades; plants commonly found below and above capsules conspicuously exerted beyond ' 2,620 m 10 tepals 17 ; . 368 Ghkat Basin Naiikaus r Vol. 46, No. 2 15( 14). Leaves strongly folded, narrow edge oriented 21(19). Larger tepals 3-5 nnn long or, if smaller, toward the flattened stem; .scarious margins of then inflorescence with 1 or rarely 2 heads, sheaths e.\tending well beyond jnnetnre with e(|ual to or conspicuously exceeding cap- stem, gradually tapering to ineonspieuous au- sules 20 ricles or auricles lacking; margins of blade — Tepals 1.5-2.8 mm long, shorter than cap- more or less united beyond .scarious margins sules; inflorescence with (1)4-25 heads ...