Introductory
SPECIES: Juncus castaneus | Chestnut Rush 



ABBREVIATION : 
JUNCAS

SYNONYMS : 
   Juncus castaneus Sm. var. pallidus Hook.


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   JUCA6


COMMON NAMES : 
   chestnut rush


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of chestnut rush in Juncus
castaneus J. E. Smith [5].  Two subspecies are recognized [5]:

                J. c. ssp. castaneus
                J. c. ssp. leucochlamys (Zinz.) Hult.



LIFE FORM : 
Graminoid

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Chestnut rush is rare in Glacier National Park [8].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams/October 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Juncus castaneus. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Juncus castaneus | Chestnut Rush 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Chestnut rush is circumboreal.  In North America, it extends from Alaska
east to Greenland and south in the Rocky Mountains through Montana to
New Mexico [4].

Occurrence in Glacier National Park:  Gunsight Pass, Hidden Lake
Overlook at Logan Pass, Mount Reynolds, Brown's Pass, Siyeh Creek
[7,11].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES37  Mountain meadows
   FRES44  Alpine


STATES : 
     AK  CO  MT  NM  UT  WY  AB  BC  MB  NB
     NF  NS  NT  ON  PQ  SK  YT


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     DENA  GLAC  LACL  ROMO  WRST  YUCH


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Juncus castaneus | Chestnut Rush 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Fragile bogs inhabited by chestnut rush should be protected from
trampling [7].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Juncus castaneus | Chestnut Rush 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Chestnut rush is a perennial which grows 3 to 12 inches (7-30 cm) tall
and has long slender rhizomes or stolons.  The stems arise singly or in
pairs.  The leaves are 1 to 4 inches (3-10 cm) long.  Each plant has one
to three heads; each head has 3 to 12 flowers.  The capsule is dark
brown, and the strongly tailed seeds are 2.5 to 4 millimeters long
[4,11,12].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Chestnut rush reproduces both sexually and vegetatively [2].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Chestnut rush is a montane-arctic species.  It grows on wet sites in
tundra, mountains, and alpine communities, on wet, mossy soil near
streams and seeps, and on open rocky slopes.  Chestnut rush was
identified as a component of a New Mexico alpine grassland community
dominated by sedges (Carex spp.) [9].  Associates include other rushes
(Juncus spp.), sedges, alpine fescue (Festuca ovina var.  brachyphylla),
bluegrasses (Poa spp.), and tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa).
Chestnut rush was reported at elevations of 5,550 to 6,975 feet
(1,790-2,250 m) in Montana, 11,800 feet in Utah, 7,000 to 12,900 feet
(2,135-3,930 m) in Colorado, and 10,600 to 10,700 feet (3,230-3,260 m)
in Wyoming [2,4,6,9,12].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
In Montana, chestnut rush has mature fruit in July and August [8].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Juncus castaneus | Chestnut Rush 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Juncus castaneus | Chestnut Rush 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

References for species: Juncus castaneus

1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]

2. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]

3. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

4. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 914 p. [1169]

5. Hulten, Eric. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1008 p. [13403]

6. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

7. Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park, Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27 p. [12049]

8. Lesica, P.; Moore, G.; Peterson, K. M.; Rumely, J. H. 1984. Vascular plants of limited distribution in Montana. Monograph No. 2. Proceedings, Montana Academy of Sciences. 43(Supplement): 1-61. [11656]

9. Pase, Charles P. 1982. Alpine tundra. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants. 4(1-4): 27-33. [8882]

10. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

11. Standley, Paul C. 1921. Flora of Glacier National Park, Montana. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Vol. 22, Part 5. Washington, DC: United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution: 235-438. [12318]

12. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]

13. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]

14. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

15. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]

Related categories for Species: Juncus castaneus | Chestnut Rush