DACF Home → Bureaus & Programs → Maine Natural Areas Program → Communities, Plants, and Animals → Rare Plants → Juncus stygius
Juncus stygius L. ssp. americanus (Buch.) Hultén
Moor Rush
- State Rank: S2
- Global Rank: G5T5
- State Status: Special Concern
Habitat: Circumneutral fens, usually with few or no trees. [Open wetland, not coastal nor rivershore (non-forested, wetland)]
Range: Newfoundland to Maine, northern New York, Michigan and Minnesota; also in British Columbia and Europe.
Aids to Identification: Rushes are recognized by their grass-like morphology, small flowers with 6 inconspicuous sepals and petals (called tepals) and 3-valved capsules. Juncus stygius belongs to a group of rushes with flowers and are borne in dense clusters, that have white or pink-tinged tepals and seeds with conspicuous white, tail-like appendages. It has larger seeds (3-3.5 mm long) and capsules (6-7 mm tall) than any other rush.
Phenology: Flowers July - August.
Family: Juncaceae
Ecological characteristics: Ecological relationships in Maine are not well known.
Synonyms: Juncus stygius L. var. americanus Buch.
Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been documented from a total of 18 town(s) in the following county(ies): Aroostook, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset.
Reason(s) for rarity: At southern limit of its range.
Conservation considerations: Appears to be persisting in the fens where it occurs.