Botanical art
Common names
Joint-leaf Rush
Etymology
Juncus from the Latin 'jungere' meaning to tie or bind; referring to the use of the rushes for weaving and basketry. Holoschoenus possibly from the Greek 'holos' meaning entirely and 'schoinos' meaning rush, reed; unsure of its reference to the species.
Distribution and status
Found in the Flinders Ranges, Mount Lofty Ranges and the South-east in South Australia, growing in damp grassland and along the edge of water. Also found in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Queensland. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Tufted or shortly rhizomatous perennial rush with greyish-green stems to 45 cm high and 3 mm diameter. Leaves cauline with hollow blade hollow, usually at least as long as the stem, terete or slightly compressed, to 4 mm wide. Inflorescence terminal in loose clusters with many light brown flowers with reddish tinged towards the apex. Flowering between December and March. Fruits are clusters of light brown to golden-brown, trigonous-ovoid capsules with numerous seeds. Seeds are tiny orange ovoid seed to 0.5 mm long and 0.3 mm wide, with fine reticulated surface. Seed embryo type is broad.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between February and May. Collect fruits either by picking off the mature heads, those turning brown and come-off easily or break-off the whole spikes. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the heads with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any unwanted material. Be careful, as the seeds are very small. Seeds are brown and hard. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was average, at 55%.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSB | 18,300 (0.42 g) | >30 | 31-Jan-2006 | HPV2965 South Eastern | |||
| BGA MSB | 19,500 (0.3 g) 19,500 (0.3 g) | 40 | 15-Feb-2006 | DJD411 South Eastern | 1-Aug-2006 | 55% | -18°C |
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.