DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Juncus roemerianus | Black Rush 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Black rush is primarily restricted to coastal marshes and estuaries of
the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast states.  Its distribution is
continuous from New Jersey to southern Florida, and westward to
southeastern Texas.  Scattered outlying populations also occur in
Connecticut, New York, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands [4].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES16  Oak - gum - cypress
   FRES41  Wet grasslands


STATES : 
     AL  CT  DE  FL  GA  LA  MD  MS  NJ  NY
     NC  SC  TX  VA  MEXICO


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ASIS  BICY  CAHA  CALO  CUIS  EVER
     GUIS


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K072  Sea oats prairie
   K073  Northern cordgrass prairie
   K078  Southern cordgrass prairie
   K080  Marl - everglades
   K090  Live oak - sea oats
   K092  Everglades
   K105  Mangrove
   K113  Southern floodplain forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   101  Baldcypress
   102  Baldcypress - tupelo
   106  Mangrove


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Black rush is one of the dominant marsh species of the southern Atlantic
and Gulf coasts.  In northwest Florida, it has been estimated that 60
percent of the salt marshes are covered with monospecific stands of this
species [19].  In many situations, monospecific stands of smooth
cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) form a seaward zone that borders black
rush.  The boundary between these communities is usually distinct and
abrupt [4,19].

Black-rush-dominated communities have been separated into three
generalized categories based upon elevation and soil salinity influences
[25].  The number of species associated with black rush tends to
increase as water salinity decreases [4].  The three categories of black
rush marsh are presented below:

(1) Saline marsh, which experiences little dilution of tidal waters.
Associates include smooth cordgrass, saltmeadow cordgrass (S. patens),
giant cordgrass (S. cynosuroides), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata),
glasswort (Salicornia spp.), Olney threesquare (Scirpus americanus), and
saltmarsh bulrush (Scirpus robustus).

(2) Brackish marsh, where tidal waters are routinely diluted before
flooding the marsh.  Associates include smooth cordgrass, giant
cordgrass, saltmeadow cordgrass, sealavender (Limonium caroliniana),
Olney threesquare, and common arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia).

(3) Intermediate marsh, which is transitional between brackish and
freshwater marsh.  Associates include common reed (Phragmites
australis), sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), softstem bulrush (Scirpus
validus), and Virginia iris (Iris virginica).  

Related categories for Species: Juncus roemerianus | Black Rush