Juncus caespiticius
E.Mey. Grassy RushDensely to loosely tufted, shortly rhizomatous and sometimes stoloniferous perennial. Culms erect, 3–65 cm high, usually exceeding the leaves, ± minutely papillose. Leaves mostly basal; blade linear, to c. 30 cm long and 2(–2.5) mm wide, channelled, becoming flat towards the acute apex; sheaths usually reddish, much broader than blades; auricles absent. Inflorescence often umbel-like, with a sessile or subsessile cluster of flowers, usually also with up to 25 clusters terminating branches of variable length; clusters with up to c. 25 flowers, expanding to 0.5–0.9 cm diam. in fruit; primary bract usually leaf-like and exceeding the inflorescence; prophylls absent. Tepals tinged dark brown, margins membranous; outer tepals 2.2–3.2 mm long, acuminate; inner subequal to the outer, obtuse; stamens 6, anthers 0.5–0.7 mm long. Capsules brown, ovoid, c. 2–3 mm long, obtuse and shortly mucronate, subequal to tepals; seeds c. 0.3–0.5 mm long, with very fine longitudinal and transverse ridges discernible only at high magnification, minutely apiculate at one or both ends. Flowers mostly Oct.–Feb., seeds shed mostly Jan–May.
GleP, Brid, VVP, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, DunT, EGL, EGU, WPro, HSF, OtR, Strz. Also WA, SA, NSW, Tas. New Zealand. Principally coastal, where it occurs in freshwater or sub-saline swamps and in the lower reaches of watercourses, occasionally recorded further inland.
Very close to Juncus planifolius, but see key. The South African J. capensis Thunb. var. macranthus Adamson occurs on waste land near Sydney but has not yet been found in Victoria. Like J. caespiticius it has 6 stamens, but differs in having longer outer tepals 4-5 mm long.
Albrecht, D.E. (1994). Juncus. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 197–233. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
