Juncus acutus

{{Speciesbox

|image = Juncus acutus at Lake Walyungup, Rockingham Lakes Regional Park, June 2022 02.jpg

|image_caption = Lake Walyungup, Rockingham Lakes Regional Park

|genus = Juncus

|species = acutus

|authority = L.{{GRIN | accessdate = 2008-04-26}}

}}

Juncus acutus, the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae. It is native to the Americas, Northern and Southern Africa, Western and Southern Europe and West Asia, and is found in a variety of wet habitats, such as bogs, fens, meadows, and salt marshes,{{cite book |last1=Baba |first1=A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kuMICY6NCcC |title=Groundwater and Ecosystems |last2=Howard |first2=K.W.F. |last3=Orhan |first3=G. |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |year=2006 |isbn=1-4020-4736-3 |chapter=Groundwater in Semi-Arid Mediterranean Areas |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kuMICY6NCcC&pg=PT77}} and along the edges of ponds and lakes.{{cite web |title=Juncus acutus |url=https://www.worldplants.de/world-plants-complete-list/complete-plant-list/?name=Juncus-acutus#g- |website=www.worldplants.de |publisher=World Plants: Complete Plant List |access-date=20 March 2022}}{{cite journal |last1=Schardosim |first1=Alecsandro |last2=Klein |first2=Vanilde |last3=Citadini-Zanette |first3=Robson dos Santos |date=September 2007 |title=Florística e estrutura comunitária de restinga herbácea no município de Araranguá, Santa Catarina |url=https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/biotemas/article/viewFile/20663/18823 |journal=Biotemas |language=pt |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=15–26 |id=– 1643 |access-date=2015-06-07}}

The sharp-pointed rush is a perennial plant that grows to a height of about 60 to 100 centimeters (24 to 39 inches). It has slender, cylindrical stems with narrow, pointed leaves and clusters of small, light brown flowers that bloom in the summer.

This species is important for a variety of reasons. It provides habitat and food for a range of wetland animals, including insects, birds, and mammals. It is also an important component of wetland ecosystems, helping to prevent soil erosion and maintain water quality. In some countries like Australia it is considered to be an invasive weed{{cite book |last1=Parsons |first1=W. T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRCrNAQQrpwC |title=Noxious Weeds of Australia |last2=Cuthbertson |first2=E. G. |date=2001 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |isbn=0-643-06514-8 |pages=712 pages |chapter=FAMILY Juncaceae |access-date=2008-04-26 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRCrNAQQrpwC&pg=PA81}} and the spines harmful to young children.{{cite web |title=Australia Spiny Rush |url=http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=0&ibra=all&card=W22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920202223/http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=0&ibra=all&card=W22 |archive-date=2008-09-20 |access-date=2008-04-20 |work=Weed Identification |publisher=Australian Weeds Committee, National Weeds Strategy}}

In addition, sharp-pointed rush has been used for a variety of purposes, including as a source of fiber for making paper, baskets, and other woven products, and for medicinal purposes. The plant has also been used for landscaping and erosion control,{{cite journal |last1=De Baets |first1=S. |last2=Poesen |first2=J. |last3=Knapen |first3=A. |last4=Barberá |first4=G.G. |last5=Navarro |first5=J.A. |date=2007 |title=Root characteristics of representative Mediterranean plant species and their erosion-reducing potential during concentrated runoff |url=http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2007/05497/EGU2007-J-05497.pdf |journal=Geophysical Research Abstracts |publisher=European Geosciences Union |volume=9 |issn=1607-7962 |access-date=2008-04-26}} as well as for ornamental purposes in gardens and wildflower meadows.

Despite its ecological and cultural significance, Juncus acutus is considered to be of least concern in terms of conservation, as it is widely distributed and not currently threatened by habitat loss or other factors. However, continued conservation efforts are necessary to protect this species and its habitat and ensure its long-term survival.

Synonyms

Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii (Parl.) Snog. -- Leopold's rush{{ITIS |id=524958 |taxon=Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii |accessdate=25 April 2008}}
Juncus acutus L. var. sphaerocarpus Engelm{{cite web

| url = http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=JUACL

| title = PLANTS Profile, Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii

| access-date = 2008-04-25

| author = Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

| author-link = Natural Resources Conservation Service

| work = The PLANTS Database

| publisher = United States Department of Agriculture

}}

Juncus acutus L. subsp. acutus
Juncus spinosus Forssk{{cite web

|url=http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=41763

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116010450/http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=41763

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2013-01-16

|title=Juncus acutus L. subsp. acutus record n° 41763

|access-date=2008-04-25

|work=African Plants Database

|publisher=South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica.

}}

Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii also known as Leopold's rush is a native of Arizona, California, Georgia and Nevada.
Juncus acutus L. var. conglobatus Trautv
Juncus acutus L. var. decompositus Guss
Juncus acutus L. var. longibracteatus Buchenau{{cite web

|url=http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=160745

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116000111/http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=160745

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2013-01-16

|title=Juncus acutus L. record n° 160745

|access-date=2008-04-25

|work=African Plants Database

|publisher=South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica

}}

Description

Juncus acutus is a brown and green{{cite web

| url = http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/1175

| title = Juncus acutus L.

| access-date = 2008-04-26

| author =Helen Coleman, FloraBase: Flora of Western Australia

| author-link = Western Australian Herbarium

| date = 2007-09-11

| work = Flora Descriptions

| publisher = Government of Western Australia

}}

tussock-forming

perennial that can grow to {{convert|1.5|m|ft}}

tall in all kinds of soils,{{cite web

| url = http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Juncus+acutus

| title = Juncus acutus

| access-date = 2008-04-25

| work = Species Database

| publisher = Plants For A Future

}}

in areas which go from extremes in flood and dry like dunes

or that just stay wet like lowland grassland and grassy woodland, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetland, and saline and subsaline wetlands.{{cite web

| url = http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/weeds_perennial_spiny_rush

| title = Spiny Rush (Juncus acutus) (Nox)

| access-date = 2008-04-25

| date = 2008-05-03

| work = Victorian Resources Online

| publisher = The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries

}}

;Stems and leaves: Pith filled stems and leaves arise from the base at different angles giving the plant a globe shape. The leaves form a basal sheath around the flower stem leaves and end with a stiff sharp point.

;Flowers: The flower stems are {{convert|2|mm|in}} to {{convert|4|mm|in}} in diameter and {{convert|4|cm|in}} to {{convert|13|cm|in}} long and are similar to the leaves. They emerge from the base at all angles and each have 1 - 6 flowers. Each flower has 6 stamens and {{convert|4|cm|in}} to {{convert|25|cm|in}} long bracts that terminate in a stiff and sharp point. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by the wind.

;Fruits and reproduction: Fruits are oval 3-celled brown capsules {{convert|4|mm|in}} to {{convert|6|mm|in}}. The {{convert|1.2|mm|in}} to {{convert|2|mm|in}} long brown seeds have a tail at each end.

;Roots: Short and robust rhizomes.

Gallery

Image:Juncus acutus3.jpg |Habit

Image:Juncus acutus seeds at Lake Walyungup, Rockingham Lakes Regional Park, June 2022 01.jpg|Inflorescence

Image:Juncus acutus leaf tip NC2.jpg| Sharp leaf tip of Juncus acutus

Distribution

Found principally in low-lying damp, low fertility areas like sandy sea shores and dune slacks and coastal flats, occasionally in salt marshes and disturbed saline areas, mine dumps, lowland grassland and grassy woodland, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetland, and saline and subsaline wetlands

:Palearctic:

::Northern Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco

::Western Asia: Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey

::Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

::Northern Europe: British Isles

::Southeastern Europe: Albania, Crete, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Montenegro, Sardinia, Serbia, Sicily, Malta

::Southwestern Europe: Azores, Balearic Islands, Corsica, France, Portugal, Spain

:Nearctic:

::Northern America: Baja California

Community species

:In Brazil, J. acutus has been observed on the Santa Catarina coast living in communities with:

:*Ipomoea pes-caprae

:*Hydrocotyle bonariensis

:*Senecio crassiflorus

:In a natural shallow depression in the Murray River floodplain in South Australia:

:*Muehlenbeckia florulenta

:*Atriplex semibaccata

:*Halosarcia pergranulata ssp. pergranulata

:*Mimulus repens

:*Ludwigia peploides ssp. montevidensis

:*Phragmites australis

:*Paspalum vaginatum{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}

Chemistry

The dimeric phenanthrenoid 8,8'-bidehydrojuncusol and the monomeric juncusol{{cite journal |author1=Fathi Abdelmohsen Abdelhalim Behery |author2=Zain Elabdin Metwally Naeem |author3=Galal Taha Maatooq |author4=Mohamed Mahmoud Abdelfattah Amer |author5=Zhi-Hong Wen |author6=Jyh-Horng Sheu |author7=Atallah Fouad Ahmed | year = 2007 | title = Phenanthrenoids from Juncus acutus L., New Natural Lipopolysaccharide-Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors | journal = Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin | volume = 55 | issue = 8| pages = 1264–1266 | doi = 10.1248/cpb.55.1264 |pmid=17666857 | doi-access = free }} and dehydrojuncusol can be isolated from J. acutus.{{cite journal | last1 = Behery | first1 = FA | last2 = Naeem | first2 = ZE | last3 = Maatooq | first3 = GT | last4 = Amer | first4 = MM | last5 = Ahmed | first5 = AF | year = 2013 | title = A novel antioxidant phenanthrenoid dimer from Juncus acutus L. | journal = Nat Prod Res | volume = 27 | issue = 2| pages = 155–163 | doi = 10.1080/14786419.2012.662759 | pmid = 22360833 | s2cid = 24392241 }}

References

External links

{{cite web

| url = http://beta.uniprot.org/taxonomy/308385

| title = Juncus acutus

| access-date = 2008-04-25

| author = UniProt

| author-link = UniProt

}}

{{cite book

| last = Linné

| first = Carl von

| author-link = Carl Linnaeus

|author2=Laurentii Salvii

| title = Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas...

| url = http://www.botanicus.org/item/31753000802824

| series = Vol. 1

| date = 1753

| id = QK91.C480 1753

| chapter = Juncus

| chapter-url = http://www.botanicus.org/page/358344

}}