Juncus occidentalis

Western rush, Western Rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western rush is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, northern and central Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, central western California, southern California coastal areas, western Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges at elevations below 2,400 meters in moist, generally sunny areas. Flowering from late spring through summer, this rush produces small green to brown-striped flowers with delicate scarious margins. Growing in dense tufts 30 to 60 centimeters tall with stiff, upright stems, it forms compact clumps in moist habitats. Its basal leaves are narrow, approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters wide, with flat sides oriented toward the stem and no visible crosswalls. The fruit is dark brown, three-angled, and less than three-quarters the length of the perianth, with a truncate or notched tip.

Habitat: Moist generally sunny areas

Elevation: < 2400 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, n&ampc SN, ScV, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo, WTR, PR (exc SnJt)

California counties: Mendocino, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Shasta, Humboldt, Lake, Mono, Napa, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Sierra, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Marin, Monterey, Nevada, Plumas, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Trinity, Tuolumne, Contra Costa, Tehama, San Diego, Butte, Amador, Yuba, Sacramento, Placer, Sutter, Lassen, Solano, Mariposa, Alameda, Madera, Colusa, Fresno, Alpine, Ventura, Kern

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