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Juncus acutus
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Spiny Rush
( Juncus acutus )
Juncus acutus
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
Click on blue squares to see occurrence records.
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12 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About Spiny Rush (Juncus acutus)
12 Nurseries Carry This Plant
Add to My Plant List
Spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush is of the monocot family Juncaceae and genus Juncus. It grows in salt marshes and on dunes and is reliable for reducing erosion rates. The stems which emerge from a central cluster have sharp terminal spines. It has been introduced in some countries like Australia where it is considered to be an invasive weed and the spines harmful to young children. In California it is found primarily along the central and southern coast. It is a brown and green "tussocky" perennial that can be to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) tall in all kinds of soils- in areas which go from extremes in flood and dry like dunes or that just stay wet like lowland grassland and grassy woodland, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetland, and saline and sub-saline wetlands. There is one recognized variety, var. leopoldii, which is rare and included on CNPS List 4.2. This plant is not often used in home gardens because of its terminal spines and its habitat requirements. It is one of several species of Juncus used by native people of California for basket weaving.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Grass, Shrub
Size
5 ft tall
5 ft wide
Form
Fountain
Growth Rate
Moderate
Dormancy
Evergreen
Fragrance
None
Flower Color
Brown
Wildlife Supported
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
*
Yellow-Collared Scape Moth
Cisseps fulvicollis
Cisseps fulvicollis
*
Javelin Moth
Bactra verutana
Bactra verutana
*
Mottled Marble
Bactra furfurana
Bactra furfurana
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun
Moisture
Moderate - High
Summer Irrigation
Keep moist
Nurseries
Carried by 12
Ease of Care
Very Easy
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 25° F
Soil Drainage
Slow, Standing
Soil Description
Tolerates almost any soil as long as adequate moisture is present. Tolerates Saline Soil,Tolerates Sodic Soil. Soil PH: 5.0 - 9.0
Common uses
Bogs and Ponds, Groundcovers
Companion Plants
Use with plants from similar wet, salty or alkaline places, such as Saltbush (
Atriplex sp.
),
Sedge
(
Carex sp.
),
Saltgrass
(
Distichlis spicata
),
Beaked Spikerush
(
Eleocharis rostellata
),
Palmer's Frankenia
(
Frankenia palmeri
), San Diego Marsh Elder (
Iva hayesiana
), Baja
Desert
Thorn (
Lycium brevipes
)
Propagation
?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.
Natural Setting
Site Type
Seeps, meadows, salt marsh, dunes, and adjacent areas, primarily along the southern coast
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.7" - 36.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 1.38", Coldest Month: 42.1" - 60.1", Hottest Month: 62.6" - 88.8", Humidity: 0.92" - 40.20", Elevation: -142" - 3968"
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Spiny Rush
Juncus acutus
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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