Juncus triformis

Yosemite dwarf rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: annual · Native

Yosemite dwarf rush is a California native annual found in the Cascade Ranges, Sierra Nevada, southern California coastal areas, San Bernardino Mountains, and Peninsular Ranges in vernal pools, swales, and volcanic and granitic seeps at elevations of 50 to 2,500 meters. Typically flowering when conditions permit, this plant produces tiny flowers with green to red perianth parts arranged sparsely along delicate stems. Growing as a dense tufted plant just 2 to 16 centimeters tall with hair-like stems less than 0.4 millimeters wide, it forms compact clusters close to the ground. Its basal leaves are short, measuring less than one-third of the stem length, with no sheath appendages. The fruit is spheric to oblong, generally smaller than the perianth and often reddish, containing 2 to 3 seed chambers.

Habitat: Vernal pools, swales, volcanic and granitic seeps

Elevation: 50-2500 m

Bioregions: CaR, SN, SCo, SnBr, PR.

California counties: Fresno, San Bernardino, San Diego, Shasta, Tulare, Tuolumne, Madera, Butte, Mariposa, Riverside, Tehama, Placer

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