Toad Rush - Juncus bufonius

Description

Slender almost grass like plant, usually reaching only 2 to 10cm in height. The very slender stem is either single or repeatedly branched at the base, and normally repeatedly forked above, with a floret in each fork, and other florets along, and at the tips of the branches. All but the terminal florets are stalkless on the upper side of the stem and solitary. Perianth segments lanceolate and tapered to fine points, green or purple flushed. Capsule ovoid oblong, blunt, brown.

Similar Species

The rarely recorded Juncus ranarius is very similar, but with slight differences in tepals and capsule

Identification difficulty
Habitat

On bare, moist soil, pond margins, etc.

When to see it

May to September.

Life History

Unusually for a rush this is an annual plant.

UK Status

common throughout Britain.

VC55 Status

Common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 319 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
Toad Rush
Species group:
Grasses, Rushes & Sedges
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Poales
Family:
Juncaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
54
First record:
01/01/1979 (Patricia Evans)
Last record:
20/06/2023 (Horrell, Catherine)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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