Grasses List
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Grasses List
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Rushes Family [Juncaceae] 
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category
status
flower
inner
petals
(3+3)stem
stem
sex
_2018_06_30_WestKirby_RedRock_262p8.jpg)
| 30th June 2018, coastal saltmash, West Kirby, Wallasey. | Photo: © RWD |
| Sea Rush are the darker clumps in the upper saltmarsh area where high tide does not reach on a daily basis (only in storms and maybe really high tides). |
_2018_06_30_WestKirby_RedRock_256p6.jpg)
| 30th June 2018, coastal saltmash, West Kirby, Wallasey. | Photo: © RWD |
| This is about the most inland that Sea Rush likes to get to, beyond this are the much drier stable sand-dunes inhabited by other plants such as grasses. It is erect and very stiff, growing upright to 1m in height. |
_2018_06_30_WestKirby_RedRock_138p99.jpg)
| 30th June 2018, coastal saltmash, West Kirby, Wallasey. | Photo: © RWD |
| Each floret has two small (narrow and long) bracteoles just below it. |
_2018_06_30_WestKirby_RedRock_247p2.jpg)
| 30th June 2018, coastal saltmash, West Kirby, Wallasey. | Photo: © RWD |
| It flowers on the sides of the reeds where the flowers force a way out of the stem. The inside of the stem lacks a pith on Sea Rush. The stem has many longitudinal but faint ridges/grooves. |
_2018_06_30_WestKirby_RedRock_255p5.jpg)
| 30th June 2018, coastal saltmash, West Kirby, Wallasey. | Photo: © RWD |
| The stem has many longitudinal but faint ridges/grooves. Florets bursting out through splits in the side formed when the flowers grow inside exerting a stem-busting force, possibly made easier by the many grooves, which may also give it the flexibility to expand a bit before bursting its sides. |
_2016_07_23_AinsdaleDunes_GreenBeach_LBS_205p5.jpg)
| 23rd July 2016, green beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
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Meanwhile, nearly a month later in the season...
A stout and erect plant up to 1m tall with light-green and wiry leaves and stems. Growing near the high-tide line. It is tufted (growing in tight groups). It has a sharp-pointed and stiff leaf-like bract alongside which is similarly round but not as tall as the inflorescence bearing stem. |
_2016_07_23_AinsdaleDunes_GreenBeach_LBS_208p1.jpg)
| 23rd July 2016, green beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
| The many-flowered inflorescence is loose and appears lateral. |
_2016_07_23_AinsdaleDunes_GreenBeach_LBS_206p7.jpg)
| 23rd July 2016, green beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
| The flower clusters are usually erect. |
_2016_07_23_AinsdaleDunes_GreenBeach_LBS_208p3.jpg)
| 23rd July 2016, green beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
| This specimen is flowering, none have yet fruited. |
_2016_07_23_AinsdaleDunes_GreenBeach_LBS_206p8.jpg)
| 23rd July 2016, green beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
| The style ends in three twisted stigmas which are pinkish-red. |
_2016_07_23_AinsdaleDunes_GreenBeach_LBS_208p4.jpg)
| 23rd July 2016, green beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
| The perianth (the 6 'petals'/'sepals') are straw-coloured with the outer 3 being longer than the inner 3, and of differing shape too: the outer 3 have the shape of a boats hull and are sharply-pointed whilst the inner 3 are blunter and 3-4mm long. |
_2016_07_23_AinsdaleDunes_GreenBeach_LBS_208p2.jpg)
| 23rd July 2016, green beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
| The stem is round and also has many longitudinal shallow ribs. The stem feels smooth when run between the fingers either way. |
_2018_06_30_WestKirby_RedRock_254p3.jpg)
| 30th June 2018, coastal saltmash, West Kirby, Wallasey. | Photo: © RWD |
| Spent flowers having gone to fruit. |
_2018_06_30_WestKirby_RedRock_251p1.jpg)
| 30th June 2018, coastal saltmash, West Kirby, Wallasey. | Photo: © RWD |
| The fruits have mostly vacated the sepal cups in these specimens. The inflorescences are rather compact even after fruiting. |
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Not to be semantically confused with : Sea Club-Rush (Bolboschoenus maritimum) [a Club-rush plant with similar name. Club-rushes are not members of the Rushes, but rather of the Sedges.]
Easily mistaken for : other tall(ish) Rushes such as Hard Rush (Juncus inflexus), Soft Rush (Juncus effusus), Compact Rush (Juncus conglomeratus), The fruit has 3 sides, is light-brown, has a mucronate tip and is about the same length (~4mm) as the perianth (the 3 + 3 'petals'/'sepals'). |
 Juncus
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maritimus
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⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Juncaceae
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 Juncus (Rushes) |
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Rushes Family [Juncaceae]
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BSBI maps