''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to ''

Juncus interior ''Juncus interior'' is a species of rush. It is known by the common name interior rush, and in its native range also as "soft rush" (which generally refers to ''J. effusus'' outside North America). It is native to the central inlands of North Am ...

''.

Distribution

''Juncus effusus'' is nearly cosmopolitan, considered native in Europe, Asia, Africa,

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and South America. It has naturalized in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Madagascar, and various oceanic islands.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It is found growing in wet areas, such as wetlands,

riparian areas A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

, and marshes. In the United Kingdom it is found in

purple moor-grass and rush pastures Purple moor grass and rush pastures is a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe. It is found in the South West of England, especially in Devon. ...

and fen-meadow plant associations.

Description

''Juncus effusus'' grows in large clumps about tall at the water's edge along streams and ditches, but can be invasive anywhere with moist soil. It is commonly found growing in humus-rich areas like marshes, ditches, fens, and beaver dams. The stems are smooth cylinders with light pith filling. The yellowish inflorescence appears to emerge from one side of the stem about from the top. In fact the stem ends there; the top part is the

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

, that continues with only a slight colour-band marking it from the stem. The lower leaves are reduced to a brown sheath at the bottom of the stem.

Subspecies

Five

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are currently recognized: #''Juncus effusus'' subsp. ''austrocalifornicus'' Lint — endemic to California and Baja California. #''Juncus effusus'' subsp. ''effusus'' — widespread #''Juncus effusus'' subsp. ''laxus'' (Robyns & Tournay) Snogerup — tropical Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius,

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. #''Juncus effusus'' subsp. ''pacificus'' (Fernald & Wiegand) Piper & Beattie — Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, Baja California. #''Juncus effusus'' subsp. ''solutus'' (Fernald & Wiegand) Hämet-Ahti — central and eastern United States. ''Juncus effusus'' can be differentiated from the rarer ''

Juncus pylaei ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plant, herbaceous pla ...

'' by the number of ridges on the stem. ''Juncus effusus'' has 30 to 40 ridges and ''J. pylaei'' has 10 to 20.

Uses

Wildlife

Soft Rush with cocoons of Coleophora caespitiella

The species provides wildfowl, wader feeding, and nesting habitats, and also habitats for small mammals. The rootstalks are eaten by

muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...

s, and birds take shelter amongst the plant's stems. A number of invertebrates feed on soft rush, including the

rufous minor ''Oligia versicolor'', the rufous minor, is a species of moth belonging to the family Noctuidae. The species was Species description, first described by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1792. It is distributed throughout Europe from Bulgaria up to t ...

moth.

Humans

''Juncus effusus'' is one of the seven ingredients of hui sup tea (去濕茶). In

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, this rush is called (藺草) and is grown to be woven into the covering of tatami mats (the filling is rice straw,

extruded styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell polystyrene#Extruded polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations ...

chip board Particle board, also known as chipboard or low-density fiberboard, is an engineered wood product manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic resin or other suitable binder, which is pressed and extruded. Particle board is often confused with ori ...

, or some combination). In Iran and Afghanistan too it is used to weave light cheap mats. It is called halfa (حلفا) and has medicinal uses too. In Europe, this rush was once used to make rushlights (by soaking the pith in grease), a cheap alternative to candles.

Cultivation

The species is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for planting in water gardens, native plant and wildlife gardens, and for larger designed natural landscaping and habitat restoration projects. The cultivar ''Juncus effusus'' 'Spiralis' (syn. ''Juncus spiralis''), with the common names corkscrew rush or spiral rush, is a distinctive potted and water garden plant due to its very curled spiral like foliage.

Weed control

''Juncus effusus'' can become a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

, undesirable in rangelands for its unpalatability to livestock. Suggested methods of controlling rushes include: ploughing; high applications of inorganic fertilizer (can pollute watersheds); and topping to prevent seed formation.

Chemistry

Juncusol Juncusol is a 9,10-dihydrophrenathrene found in ''Juncus'' species such as '' J. acutus'', '' J. effusus'' or '' J. roemerianus''. It can also be synthesized. This compound shows antimicrobial activity against ''Bacillus subtilis'' and ''Staphyl ...

is a 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene found in ''J. effusus''. The plant also contains effusol and dehydroeffusol.

References

External links

* *
Calflora Database: ''Juncus effusus'' (Bog rush, Common bog rush, Common rush)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Juncus effusus''University of Michigan - Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of ''Juncus effusus''UC CalPhotos gallery of ''Juncus effusus''Radoslaw Walkowiak: ''Short Note of Juncus effusus ssp. effusus'' (CTC PAPER 2020)
{{Authority control effusus Flora of Africa Flora of Europe Flora of North America Flora of South America Flora of temperate Asia Freshwater plants Garden plants Medicinal plants Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus