WildBristol.uk - Discovering Wildlife in Bristol

Stace 4:

Juncus bufonius L. (J. minutulus V.I. Krecz. & Gontsch) - Toad Rush.

Stems erect to procumbent, to 35(50)cm, variable in branching but often very diffuse; infloresence variable, with flowers well spaced to tightly bunched at branchlet ends; tepals rarely with dark lines; inner tepals acute to subacute, about as long to longer than acute to subacute or rarely truncate capsule; 2n=108. Native; all kinds of damp habitats, fresh-water and brackish, natural and artificial; common throughout British Isles.

Key:

• Leaves rarely >1.5cm wide; tepals rarely with dark line on either side of midrib; anthers usually 0.3-1.1x as long as filaments; seeds without longitudinal ridges visible with x20 lens (beware shrivelled seeds)

• Inner tepals acute to subaute at apex; capsule acute to obtuse at apex, rarely more or less truncate, usually shorter than inner tepals