New Jersey rush (Juncus caesariensis) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 3
Species Information
Name and classification
Scientific name:
Juncus caesariensis Coville
Common name(s):
New Jersey Rush, Rough Rush
Family name:
Juncaceae (rush family)
Major plant group:
Monocot flowering plant
Description
New Jersey Rush is a tufted, perennial herb approximately 40 – 70 cm tall. The leaves are elongate and narrowly cylindrical with regularly spaced, internal crosswalls or septa. The open, branched inflorescence bears clusters of small, non-showy, green flowers or, when fruiting, sharp-pointed dark brown capsules. The capsules are longer than the surrounding floral parts. The culms and foliage are noticeably rough to the touch, not unlike sandpaper (Figure 1).
Figure 1. New Jersey Rush and enlarged ripened capsules. The enlarged portion of the stem illustrates the rough surface of the stems and leaves.
Juncus canadensis is very similar in appearance to J. caesariensis. Whereas the mature capsules of New Jersey Rush are distinctly longer than the surrounding floral parts, in J. canadensis, they are nearly equal in length to the sepals and petals. The foliage and stems of J. canadensis are smooth contrasting with the rough nature of the leaves and culms of New Jersey Rush. The fruit and flower clusters within the inflorescence are more congested in J. canadensis than in J. caesariensis.
Full technical descriptions are available in Gleason and Cronquist (1991) and Fernald (1950).
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