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Poverty Rush
Juncus tenuis
  
About Poverty Rush (Juncus tenuis) 6 Nurseries Carry This Plant Juncus tenuis, the slender rush, is a clump-forming, round-stemmed perennial in the Juncaceae (rush family). Slender rush grows to be between 15 and 60 cm tall. Generally considered a weed, it is rarely sold by retailers as a household container plant. Where it is introduced, it is colloquially called path rush, field rush, slender yard rush, poverty rush or wiregrass. The leaves of the plant all come from the base and are not nearly as tall as the stems. The stems are partly covered by sheaths, and have the most distinctive characteristic of the plant on them: clusters or cymes at the top. These cymes consist of branches that have small egg-shaped seed capsules at the end of them. The seeds split into three parts when they become ripe. The plant also spreads via rhizomous root growth. Slender rush grows in landscapes, crops, roadsides, and all types of fields. It can grow on both wet and dry sites, in soils consisting mainly of sand or clay. Because of its high tolerance of compacted soils, it can outcompete other plant species in such places, hence the name "path rush". It is native throughout all fifty states of USA, most of Canada, and parts of northern Europe.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Grasses

Size
Size
0.49 - 2 ft tall

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Slow

Flower Color
Flower Color
Green

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 


 

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Moderate - High

Nurseries
Nurseries

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerant of a variety of garden soils as long as sufficient moisture is available

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Moist places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 11.9" - 102.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.16" - 3.44", Coldest Month: 27.8" - 55.1", Hottest Month: 55.4" - 79.6", Humidity: 0.44" - 27.32", Elevation: 9" - 7883"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Field Rush, Path Rush, Slender Rush, Slender Yard Rush, Wiregrass


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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