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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE RUSH FAMILY | |||||||||
| The rushes are generally widespread in Saskatchewan in moist habitats such as lakeshores, riverbanks, and sloughs. These plants may look like grasses because the leaves are long and linear. The leaves are in three vertical rows, instead of two vertical rows like in the grasses. The flowers are small and plain. The tepals are usually green or brown and papery in texture. The flowers are clustered into heads and then into branched or unbranched inflorescences. The inflorescences are subtended by bracts. In some species, the bracts are leaf-like and make the inflorescence look like it is coming from the side of the stem instead of the top. The fruit is a capsule. | |||||||||
| NEVADA RUSH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Juncus nevadensis | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Nevada rush grows up to 70 cm tall from a slender rhizome. The stems are erect and round in cross section. There are one to three basal leaves and one or two stem leaves. The ear-like lobes at the base of the stem are readily noticeable and are membranous in texture. The leaf blade is divided by cross partitions. The inflorescence is composed of five to 30 heads in a branched inflorescence. The inflorescence branches are erect to spreading. Each head has between three and 11 flowers. The inner and outer tepals are around the same length, though the inner tepals may be slightly shorter than the outer. The tepals range from dark brown to white in colour. Each flower has six stamens with the anthers distinctly longer than the filaments. The capsules are equal to or slightly shorter than the tepals. The seeds do not have a tail. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Nevada rush grows in prairie sloughs, grassy shores, meadow slopes, and grassy aspen woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland, Moist Mixed Grassland, and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Nevada rush is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon and is limited to the southwestern part of the province. Local population sizes vary and possible threats have been identified. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY NEVADA RUSH | |||||||||
| * Are the anthers longer than the filaments? * Are the tepals dark brown to white? * Are the seeds lacking a tail? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Nevada rush! | |||||||||
