Juncus hesperius

Coast or bog rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Coast or bog rush is a California native perennial found in northern coastal, Klamath Ranges, central coastal, and southern coastal ranges on damp ground, bogs, shores, and upper edges of salt marshes at elevations generally below 100 meters. Flowering from late spring to summer, this rush produces small dark brown to black-striped flowers with three stamens. Growing in dense tufts up to 115 centimeters tall with stems 0.8 to 2 millimeters wide, it develops rough stems with solid pith. Its leaf sheaths are 5 to 15 centimeters long, with mid-brown bases and gradually converging veins that terminate in a broadly asymmetrical winged summit. The fruit is a shiny, dark brown to nearly black oblong structure measuring 1.9 to 2.1 millimeters long, with three internal chambers.

Habitat: Damp ground, bogs, shores, upper edges of salt marshes

Elevation: generally < 100 m

Bioregions: NCo, KR, CCo, SCoRO

California counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Siskiyou, San Mateo, Santa Clara

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