Juncus fontanesii
Juncus fontanesii, also known as Desfontaines' rush, is a species of rush in the family Juncaceae.
Description
Resembling a J. articulatus with sprawling stems, or for ssp. brachyanthus mat-forming.Inflorescence is a lax display of spherical heads of flowers.
The leaves are tubular with inner cross divisions chambering the leaf into long sections very obvious when opened or dried; there are no lengthwise divisions.
The stems, as well as upright ones, sprawl on the ground and in the case of ssp. fontanesii these ground stems are conspicuously long and frequent, for the others they are at most few, though there are underground rhizomes.
The fruit capsule is conspicuously longer than the 6 tepals and for ssp pyramidatus and ssp kotschyi is contracted at the top with a sizeable tip whilst for ssp. fontanesii the fruit tip gradually tapers.
The tepals are rather greenish with narrowly acutely pointed tips, with the inner 3 tepals longer than the outer 3. They are over 3mm.
ssp. kotschyi is small with tepals with broad pale margins.
Occasional intermediates between ssp. fontanesii and ssp. pyramidatus are found from Italy eastwards.
This is a Mediterranean/West-Asian species; outside that range there may be species resembling it.
Distribution and habitat
- Species - Mediterranean countries and a little eastward.ssp. fontanesii - Mediterranean. Open wet soil, humid grasslands of tall grasses and rushes, margins of watercourses and temporarily inundated places, 0–1000 m.ssp. pyramidatus Snogerup - Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen. Wet places, margins of watercourses, temporarily wet grasslands, 0–1200 m but in desert areas to 2500 m.ssp. kotschyi Snogerup - Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Turkmenistan. Wet meadows near streams, ditches, mostly 1200–2500 m.ssp. brachyanthus Trab. - Algeria, Morocco. Mountain meadows, wet sites along streams, 1500–3000 m.