Juncus exiguus

Klamath or weak rush, Weak Rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Klamath rush is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Ranges, and Sierra Nevada Mountains in montane wet meadows, springs, and shores at elevations of 700 to 2,300 meters. While flowering details are not specified, the plant has dark brown stems up to 71 centimeters tall with narrow ridges and solid pith. Growing with slender stems less than 1.6 millimeters wide, it features dark brown to red-brown leaf sheaths that are shiny below and gradually converge at narrow, symmetrical summits. Its leaves have thin margins often minutely blackened and slightly rolled at the tips, with overlapping sheaths extending halfway from the base. The fruit is small, about 1.6 to 1.9 millimeters long, with three internal chambers and truncated ends.

Habitat: Montane, wet meadows, springs, shores

Elevation: 700-2300 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR, CaR, SNH

California counties: Shasta, Fresno, Glenn, Mariposa, Tehama, Trinity, Kern, Sierra, Placer, Amador, El Dorado, Butte, Sutter, Yuba, Nevada, Plumas, Humboldt, Tulare, Tuolumne, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Madera, Mendocino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.