Swordleaf rush (Juncus ensifolius)
Common Names: Dagger-leaf rushDescription: Introduced to North America as an ornamental.
Habit: Perennial herb from strong, long rhizomes; stems erect, 30-60 cm tall.
Leaves: Alternate, strongly flattened, compressed laterally (iris-like); partial cross-walls that run from the edges to about 2/3 of the leaf widths; sheaths open, with or without short, ear-shaped lobes.
Stems: Erect; 30-60 cm tall; round or flat.
Flowers: Inflorescence terminal, exceeding the involucre bract, heads 2- many, 5-15 mm wide, 5- to many-flowered, perianth 3-3.5 mm. long, pale greenish-brown to deep brownish-purple, the 6 segments lanceolate-acuminate, subequal; 3 or 6 stamens; style 0.5 mm. long.
Fruit and seeds: Seed pod, narrowly cylindrical, rounded, blunt, about as long as the perianth segments, egg-shaped, about 0.5 mm long, lacking tail-like appendages.
Habitat: Grows in wet, open, sandy soil in marshes, peat bogs, lakeshores and margins of creeks and rivers, from the lowland and steppe to subalpine zone.
Reproduction: By seed or rhizomes.
Similar species: Gulf coast Spikerush (Eleocharis cellulosa); Boreal alopecurus (Alopecurus alpinus); Smallflowered woodrush (Luzula parviflora).
Monitoring and rapid response: Cutting before flowering, grazing, rotary cultivations, ploughing, and drainage of area. Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, USDA PLANTS Database and the University of British Columbia.
Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).