Juncus lesueurii

Juncus lesueurii occurs chiefly on the far western areas of North America, predominently at the margins of estuaries and brackish lagoons; however, it is also found near fringes of certain freshwater bodies. Also called Salt rush, this perennial herb may attain heights of up to 1.4 meters, and is supported by a creeping network of elongated rhizomes.

Native Americans, notably the Chumash, made use of the Salt rush as a foundation material in basketry. A vast array of birds and other wildlife utilize habitats where Salt rush is a dominant herb. This perennial plant is also advantageous for control of erosion in coastal environments.

General: Rush Family (Juncaceae). Juncus lesueurii is a grasslike, perennial, rhizomatous wetland plant. Salt rush has stems that are 3-9 dm tall, stout, smooth, erect or aching, with a distinctive twist to the stems. The stems arise from stout, creeping rhizomes. The terete leaf sheaths are bladeless, and shining or light brown in color. The inflorescence appears lateral with open branches, the lowest bract cylindric, with many flowers. The capsule is oblong-ovoid, light brown, and three-angled. This species is sometimes confused with Juncus balticus, from which it may be distinguished by its longer and usually darker-colored segments.

Juncus lesueurii Bol.:
Argentina (South America)
Chile (South America)
China (Asia)
Ecuador (South America)
Peru (South America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

B.C.; Calif., Oreg., Wash.

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

Herbs, perennial, 3--14 dm. Rhizomes long- creeping. Culms erect, 1--3 mm diam. Cataphylls several. Leaves: blade absent. Inflorescences lateral, 3--many-flowered, mostly loose; primary bract much longer than inflorescence. Flowers variously pedicellate; bracteoles membranous; tepals green, lanceolate, 5--8 mm, margins brown; inner series loosely subtending capsule at maturity, usually slightly shorter, margins scarious to clear, acutish; stamens 6, filaments 0.2--1.1 mm, anthers 0.9--2.3 mm; style 1--1.5 mm. Capsules 3-locular, oblate to narrowly ovoid, 4--7 mm, shorter than or nearly equal to perianth. Seeds dark amber, oblate to ellipsoid, 0.4--0.7 mm.

Juncus balticus Willdenow subsp. pacificus Engelmann; J. lesueurii var. tracyi Jepson

Borders of salt or freshwater marshes and usually near dunes along the coast; 0--500m.

Adaptation: Salt rush grows in salt marshes or sand dunes along the California coast from Ventura County north to British Columbia. Juncus lesueurii can tolerate mild to moderate soil salinity and flooded soil conditions. Often these plants are found on drier or seasonally fluctuating wetland sites (for example, dune swales) and can tolerate periodic drought.

General: Juncus species may be planted from bare rootstock or seedlings, from container stalk or directly seeded into the soil. Bare rootstock or seedlings are preferred revegetation methods where there is moving water. Juncus lesueurii requires moderate summer watering (irrigation), generally 1 - 4 times per month depending on the absorption rate and water retention capacity of the soil. Salt rush plants may need to have their roots in moist or wet soils. These native plants are especially good for stabilizing or restoring disturbed or degraded areas for erosion and slope control. Salt rush may become invasive.

Live Plant Collections: J. Chris Hoag and Mike Zierke (USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, Idaho) provided the following information on Juncus balticus. Due to their taxonomic and habitat similarity, it is likely that Juncus lesueurii establishes in a similar manner. Planting plugs is the surest way to establish a new stand of this species. Plug spacing of 25-30 cm will fill in within one growing season. Fluctuating the water level during the establishment period may speed spread of the rush. Water levels can be managed to enhance spread and control weeds.

Flowering and fruiting summer.

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N1 - Critically Imperiled

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

Hydrology is the most important factor in determining wetland type, revegetation success, and wetland function and value. Changes in water levels influence species composition, structure, and distribution of plant communities. Water management is absolutely critical during plant establishment, and remains crucial through the life of the wetland for proper community management (Hoag et al. 1995). Juncus species can tolerate periods of drought and total inundation. It is important to keep transplanted plugs moist, not flooded, until roots are established. Water levels can then be managed to either enhance or reduce spread as well as control terrestrial weeds.

Muskrats have evolved with wetland ecosystems and form a valuable component of healthy functioning wetland communities. Muskrats use emergent wetland vegetation such as Juncus species for hut construction and for food. Typically, an area of open water is created around the huts.

Juncus species tend to be fairly resilient to insect and disease problems. Aphids may feed on the stems, but rarely cause significant damage. If an insect or disease problem is encountered in the greenhouse, treatment options may be limited by cultural constraints if these plants are to be used by Indian basket weavers. Juncus culms are split with the mouth to process basketry materials; therefore, an unusually high degree of human exposure and risk occur with plants designated for ethnobotanic use. Rushes are perennial, rhizomatous plants. In most cases, they will out-compete other species within the wetland area of the site, eliminating the need for manual or chemical control of invasive species.

Traditional Resource Management: Management of Juncus lesueurii stands includes the following: ownership of prime basket rush sites, stimulation of new growth through harvesting stalks, periodic burning, and not harvesting when soils are very mucky and likely to be compacted. According to one Northern Diegueño basket weaver, most weavers have favorite collecting areas where the basket rush is plentiful and having characteristics valued by basket weavers (long, flexible, tough stems, deep red color, access is available and relatively easy). Any Juncus stand will have plants that are immature, those which are mature but still in seed, and those which are starting to senesce. The stalks are cut above the rhizomes and roots, leaving plenty of buds to re-grow new shoots. As with other rhizomatous species, harvesting stimulates new growth and maintains the clone in a juvenile or immature growth phase, where productivity is highest. The only harvesting prohibition might be during times of heavy rain or flooding, when deep water and mud make many plants inaccessible.

Ethnobotanic: Coiled basketry prevails in Southern California, with the mottled yellowish brown of Juncus rush providing a natural colored and variegated background (Turnbaugh and Turnbaugh 1986). Juncus stems are used in the coiled baskets of Southern California basket weavers such as the Cahuilla, Luiseño, Chumash, Diegueño, Agua Caliente, Gabrieliño, Juaneño, Death Valley Shoshone, and Fernandeno (Barrows 1967; Murphy 1959). Chumash baskets, from southern California, are made with Juncus stems for the tan color and roots for the black color (Timbrook 1997). The foundation material is made of Juncus lesueurii or Juncus balticus, and the sewing material is made of Juncus textilis.

Rushes are cut off at ground level, or at the length desired. The rush, in its natural state, furnishes a variety of colors; a deep red near the base, lightening in color upwards passing through several shades of light brown, and ending at the top in a brownish

yellow. Juncus stems can be bleached in the summer sun for several months to assure a light tan uniform color.

The Cahuilla, Diegeño, Luiseño, and Chumash dye the mature rushes black by steeping them for several hours in an infusion of either horned sea-blite (Suaeda calceoliformis) or bush seepweed (Sueda moquinii). This dye is very penetrating, and the color is durable, but has a fetid, disagreeable smell. Juncus species are also dyed yellow in an infusion of indigo bush (Psorothamnus emoryi) (Barrows 1967; Merrill 1970).

Other Uses: A wide range of mammal and avian species for food and habitat (Hoag and Zierke 1998) uses Juncus species. Waterfowl, songbirds and small mammals such as jack rabbits, cottontail, muskrat, porcupine, and gopher (Martin 1951) eats rush seeds. Rushes help improve habitat for amphibians and spawning areas for fish. Muskrats feed on the roots and rhizomes, and various wetland wading birds find shelter among the stems.

Rushes provide the following conservation uses: erosion control, sediment accretion and stabilization, nutrient uptake and transformation, wildlife food and cover, restoration and creation of wetland ecosystems, and wastewater treatment applications. The rhizomatous nature, nitrogen fixation capabilities, dense root system, and phenotypic plasticity to flooding and drought stress provide high soil and slope stabilization capabilities, particularly in areas with flooded soils or fluctuating hydrology. The rhizomes form a matrix for many beneficial bacteria, making this plant an excellent addition for wastewater treatment. Rushes tend to be resistant to grazing pressure and fairly unpalatable to cattle, so they tend to increase in species composition in stockwater ponds and troughs.