Juncus distegus
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Rushes & Allied Plants
Flower colours
Brown, Red/Pink
Detailed description
Small, dark green to red-green, wiry, tightly packed clumps. Rhizome 2–4 mm diameter, horizontal at or near surface (plants easily pulled from ground). Flowering stems 250–750 × 0.75–1.50 mm, more or less smooth, wiry-flexible, dull green, dark green, red-green to reddish, pith interrupted in a regular pattern by very small lacunae (gaps), pith partitions usually wider than cavities between. Leaves absent. Basal bracts short, closely sheathing, lower bracts bright red-brown, upper most straw-coloured. Inflorescence apparently lateral, compact, few-flowered, composed of two small clusters 10 mm wide, one pressed to stem, the other at the end of a longer, slender, pliant branchlet, occasionally each of the two clusters with a smaller subsidiary cluster. Flowers 2.3–3.0 mm long, tepals red-brown with light green centre at anthesis, becoming entirely red-brown at fruiting. Stamens 3–4, rarely more in occasional flowers. Capsule 2.5–3.0 mm long, often > in length than tepals, oblong-ovoid, obtuse, glossy, chestnut-brown, often with very dark brown tip.
Similar taxa
The delicate, slender, wiry dark green, green to reddish stems with their internally, evenly, interrupted pith and small inflorescences with usually two heads, one close set to the stem the other up to 10 mm distant and held out from the stem mark this species out from all the others except J. filicaulis Buchenau, which differs in having inflorescences usually in a single cluster, and capsules more or less equal in length rather than > than the tepals. The stems of J. filicaulis are 0.5–1.0 mm cf. 0.75–1.5 mm diameter in J. distegus, and blue- or grey-green rather than dark green to red-green.
Distribution
Endemic. North Island, South Island, Chatham Islands.
Habitat
Widespread but generally local in its occurrences. Coastal to upper montane (1200 m a.s.l.). Often fringing swamps, and in cloud forest common along board walks. Also present in drier hill country, and in tussock grassland. Tending to favour poorly drained clay soils.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: Sp, DPS
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Juncaceae
Synonyms
Agathryon distegum (Edgar) Záveská Drábková & Proćków
Taxonomic notes
Proćków et al. (2023) proposed a taxonomic segregation of Juncus into six genera based on molecular and morphological evidence. Whilst it has long been recognised that the current circumscription of Juncus includes morphologically divergent taxa—reflected in the recognition of numerous subgenera and sections—the consensus view of the NZPCN website taxonomy subcommittee, taking into consideration advice from Australian Juncus expert Dr Karen Wilson (NSW Herbarium) and others in Europe is that the generic segregations proposed need further consideration and testing. Accordingly, it has been decided to maintain the current broad circumscription of Juncus, but to include all new names as synonyms in factsheets. We thank, in particular, Dr Wilson for her helpful comments.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–January
Fruiting
December–July
Life cycle
Mucilaginous seeds are dispersed by attachment, wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed and by the division of whole plants. A rather delicate species and not invasive.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACW: Facultative Wetland
Usually is a hydrophyte but occasionally found in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for April 2022 for the full story.
Etymology
juncus: From the Latin jungere ‘to tie or bind’, the stems of some species being used to make cord (Johnson and Smith)
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
JUNDIS
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, Sp
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Johnson AT, Smith HA. 1986. Plant Names Simplified: Their pronunciation, derivation and meaning. Landsman Bookshop Ltd, Buckenhill, UK.
Moore LB, Edgar E. 1970. Flora of New Zealand, Volume II. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Monocotyledones except Gramineae. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 354 p.
Proćków, J., Záveská Drábková, L. 2023. A revision of the Juncaceae with delimitation of six new genera: nomenclatural changes in Juncus. Phytotaxa 622(1): 17–41. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.622.1.2.
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (1 September 2006). Description based on Moore & Edgar (1970).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Juncus distegus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/juncus-distegus/ (Date website was queried)