Juncus nodosus
Knotted rush
Family: Juncaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3
Knotted rush is a native perennial found in southeastern Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains, and northern Desert Mountains in streambanks, lakeshores, and wet meadows at elevations below 1,700 meters. Flowering from June to September (inferred), this plant produces small spherical clusters of flowers with perianth parts 2.5 to 4.1 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems 15 to 60 centimeters tall, it develops from a creeping rhizome that produces small tubers. Its leaves are cylindric, with firm leaf sheaths and prominent crosswalls, with upper blades extending beyond the plant's inflorescence. The fruit is slender, sharply three-angled, and longer than the perianth, with tiny seeds measuring just 0.5 millimeters.
Habitat: Streambanks, lakeshores, wet meadows
Elevation: < 1700 m
Bioregions: se SNH, SnGb, W&I, n DMtns
California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Tulare, Orange, Lassen
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.