Juncus tenuis subsp. tenuis
Common names
track rush
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Rushes & Allied Plants
Flower colours
Brown, Green
Detailed description
Roots fibrous, tufted. Stem 15–60 cm tall, slender, round, hollow, wiry, dark green, branching at the top, not jointed. Leaves very narrow, glass-like, mostly at the base of the stems. Flowers small, greenish-brown, with 6 scale-like bracts surrounding the seed pod; borne in clusters of 3 at the tips of the stems. Seed pod nearly egg-shaped, brown, splitting into three sections when mature (Wax et al. 1981).
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Juncaceae
Synonyms
Agathryon tenue (Willd.) 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.
Ecology
Year naturalised
1922
Origin
N. and S. America
Life cycle
Seeds brown, small about 3mm long, with minute crossline markings (Wax et al. 1981).
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]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
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.
JUNTST
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Johnson, A. T. and Smith, H. A. 1986. Plant Names Simplified: Their pronunciation, derivation and meaning. Landsman Bookshop Ltd, Buckenhill, UK.
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.
Wax, L. M.; Fawcett, R. S.; Isely, D. (eds). 1981. Weeds of the North Central States. North Central Research Publication no. 281. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Bulletin 772.