Soft-rush - Juncus effusus

Alternative names
Soft Rush
Description

Erect and densely tufted plant 30 to 150 cm tall and 1.5 to 3 mm wide, stems smooth shiny bright green to yellow-green, with no visible ridges and containing a continuous spongy pith. The lateral inflorescence may be loose, or more contracted into a close head of florets.

Similar Species

Other Juncus

Identification difficulty
ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)

Smooth glossy stems, bright green, no ridges or grooves.  The flowerheads can be lax and spreading, or compact.

Recording advice

Photo showing plant in its habitat, and detailed photo showing smooth stem

Habitat

Damp grassland, marshes and bogs.

When to see it

June to August.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Very common throughout Britain.

VC55 Status

Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 561 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Soft-rush
Species group:
Grasses, Rushes & Sedges
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Poales
Family:
Juncaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
295
First record:
01/01/1979 (Patricia Evans)
Last record:
15/10/2024 (Isabel Raval)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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