Juncaceae (Rush Family)

Resembling grasses or rushes, mostly perennial herbs; leaves with flat to channeled or round blades; inflorescence in different forms; flowers perfect, or rarely unisexual; perianth present but inconspicuous; six tepals in two sets of three; commonly greenish to brownish or blackish; usually six stamens; style three-branched; fruit a capsule. The genera follow.

Juncus. Rush. Glabrous perennials (except for the annual J. bufonius ) with well-developed rhizomes; leaves divided into a sheath and blade; the inflorescence usually subtended by one or more leafy or tissuelike bracts, some of the lowest are elongate, appearing as a continuation of the stem; six tepals in two similar sets of three; three or six stamens; fruit a capsule with a short style at the apex. Represented by about 12 species, mostly in moist or wet places.

Luzula. Woodrush. Perennial, grasslike herbs, with spreading hairs on the leaf margins, at least when young; inflorescence in the species is in heads or short spikes;

flowers perfect; six tepals in two sets of three; six stamens; fruit a three-sectioned capsule. Represented by one relatively dainty plant at high elevations.