Juncus uncialis

Inch-high rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: annual · Native

Inch-high rush is a California native annual found in northern California Interior, Cascade Range Foothills, central Sierra Nevada Foothill, Central Valley, southern Coast Ranges, and southern California coastal areas in vernal pool margins and other drying places at elevations of 45 to 1,700 meters. Extremely small, this rush grows to just 0.3 to 3.5 centimeters tall with pale stems less than half a millimeter wide. Dense and tufted, the plant produces tiny flowers with 4 to 6 perianth parts, typically with sepals slightly larger than petals. Its basal leaves are short, measuring less than three-quarters the height of the stem, with no sheath appendages. The fruit is ovoid or elliptic, roughly the same length as the perianth, containing 2 to 4 chambers.

Habitat: Uncommon. Vernal pool margins, other drying places

Elevation: 45-1700 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaRF, c SNF, GV, SCoRO, SCo

California counties: Lake, Madera, Shasta, Tehama, Solano, Butte, Fresno, Sacramento, Merced, Sutter, Placer, Yuba, Lassen, Stanislaus, San Luis Obispo, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Mariposa, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Diego, Plumas, Yolo

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