Juncaceae is a family of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and about 464 known

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of slow-growing,

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but with various ranks ...

ous plants that may superficially resemble

grasses Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...

and

sedges The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large; botanists have described some 5,500 known species in about 90 generathe largest being the "true sedges" (genu ...

. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is ''

Juncus ''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 plants that superfici ...

''. Most of the ''Juncus'' species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes, such as ''Juncus bufonius'' are Annual plant, annuals, but most are Perennial plant, perennials. Despite the apparent similarity, Juncaceae are not counted among the plants with the vernacular name bulrush.

Description

The Leaf, leaves are evergreen and well-developed in a basal aggregation on an erect stem. They are alternate and tristichous (i.e., with three rows of leaves up the stem, each row of leaves arising one-third of the way around the stem from the previous leaf). Only in the genus ''Distichia (genus), Distichia'' are the leaves distichous. The rushes of the genus ''

'' have flat, hairless leaves or cylindrical leaves. The leaves of the wood-rushes of the genus ''Luzula'' are always flat and bear long white hairs. The plants are bisexual or, rarely, dioecious. The small flowers are arranged in inflorescences of loose Cyme (botany), cymes, but also in rather dense heads or corymbs at the top of the stem or at its side. This family typically has reduced perianth segments called tepals. These are usually arranged in two Whorl (botany), whorls, each containing three thin, papery tepals. They are not bright or flashy in appearance, and their color can vary from greenish to whitish, brown, purple, black, or hyaline. The three carpel, stigmas are in the center of the flowers. As is characteristic of monocots, all of the flower parts appear in multiples of three. The fruit is usually a nonfleshy, three-sectioned dehiscent capsule (fruit), capsule containing many seeds.

Uses

The dried pith of plants of this family is used to make a lighting implement known as a rushlight. The common rush (''Juncus effusus'') is called in Japanese language, Japanese and is used to weave the soft surface cover of tatami mats. In medieval Europe, loose fresh rushes would be strewn on earthen floors in dwellings for cleanliness and insulation. Particularly favored for such a purpose was ''Acorus calamus'' (sweet flag), but despite its alternate vernacular name "sweet rush", it is a plant from a different monocot order (biology), order, Acorales.Burton, Alfred. ''Rush-bearing: An Account of the Old Custom of Strewing Rushes: Carrying Rushes to Church; The Rush-Cart; Garlands in Churches; Morris-Dancers; The Wakes; The Rush.'' Manchester: Brook & Chrystal, 1891; pp. 1-12 Up until the 1960s in Ireland, rushes were spread on the earthen floor of homes during wet weather to help keep the floor dry during periods of snow or rain, or during hot weather to keep rooms cool. Rushes used in Ireland included ''Juncus effusus'', ''Juncus glaucus'', and ''Juncus conglomeratus''. The stems and leaves of ''Juncus kraussii'' were used by Indigenous Australians for fibre, for string, fishing lines, woven rugs and basket-weaving, woven baskets. It is commonly used today for stabilisation of the banks of estuaries, around salt marshes and riparian zones next to sites developed for human use. It is also used in biofiltration systems and rain gardens.

References

External links

Information and pictures
* * {{Authority control Juncaceae, Poales families