Introductory
SPECIES: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered Rush 



ABBREVIATION : 
JUNTRIA

SYNONYMS : 
   Juncus albescens


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   JUAL2


COMMON NAMES : 
   three-flowered rush
   albino rush


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of three-flowered rush is Juncus
triglumis var. albescens Lange.  The species proper is circumboreal and
has two varieties.  Some authorities list J. triglumis var. triglumis as
a Eurasian variety and J. triglumis var. albescens as a New World
variety.  The second is commonly referred to by its synonym, Juncus
albescens [6].  Other authorities argue that the two entities are in
fact separate species, both occurring in North America.  Juncus
triglumis var. triglumis is more of an arctic-alpine species, while J.
Triglumis var. albescens is calcareous-soil limited [5].


LIFE FORM : 
Graminoid

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Three-flowered rush is rare in Montana [15].


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


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Juncus triglumis var. albescens. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered Rush 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Three-flowered rush is transcontinental in North America.  It extends
from Alaska to Greenland, south in the east to New York and in the Rocky
Mountains to New Mexico [4,6,21].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES37  Mountain meadows
   FRES44  Alpine


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


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     GLAC  LACL  ROMO  WRST


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 : 
Three-flowered rush grows in wet, alpine meadows. It is not a dominant
or indicator [8,13,16,18,21].

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered 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 : 
If autogenic changes are slow, three-flowered rush may be useful as an
indicator of global climatic changes [14].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
The fragile, boggy habitat of three-flowered rush should be protected
from trampling [13].  Three-flowered rush had 2 percent greater cover on
a 35-year-old oil spill than on undisturbed sites.  This indicates that
the species was at least resilient to, if not benefited by, a reduction
in competition.  Water-soaked roots are protected from hydrocarbons
[10].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered Rush 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Three-flowered rush is a loosely tufted perennial which grows 1.5 to 8
inches (4-19 cm) tall.  The 0.5- to 2.8-inch-long (1-7 cm) basal leaves
rise from branching rootstocks.  The inflorescence consists of two to
five (usually three) flowers in a capitate cluster.  The capsule has
three cells and three sides and contains numerous seeds [4,6,21].  The
flowers, fruits, and seeds of the two varieties of J. triglumis differ
inconstantly [6].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Three-flowered rush reproduces from its branching rootstocks [6].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Three-flowered rush is an arctic-alpine species, which grows in wet
meadows, on edges of streams and river bars, and near snowbanks.  It
grows on wet sites, although not the wettest available.  It grows in
areas that have been gouged out by heavy runoff, and it is tolerant of
relatively deep standing water for part of the season [6,8,11,16,20].
Three-flowered rush is more abundant on the limestone edge of its range.
It grows in wet microsites of shallow soils, saturated, sandy gravel
subject to needle ice disturbance, or frost hummocks subject to soil
frost action.  It has been reported on gleysolic, crysolic, or organic
soils [1,7,14,17].

Three-flowered rush has been reported at 11,000 to 12,000 feet
(3,550-3,870 m) in Colorado [4] and 8,680 to 11,810 feet (2,800-3,810 m)
in Utah [21].  Three-flowered rush is often associated with other rushes
(Juncus spp.), sedges (Carex spp.), kobresia (Kobresia spp.),
cottongrass (Eriophorum spp.), knotweed (Polygonum spp.) fescue (Festuca
spp.), and millet woodrush (Luzula parviflora) [7,8,16,17,18].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Three-flowered rush is a species of mid-hydrarch succession.  It grows
in shallow soils of former lakebeds and decreases as more soil develops
[14].  It grows in the intermediate stage between lake and meadow [16].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Three-flowered rush has mature fruit anytime between June and September
[6,9,15].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered Rush 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered 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
SPECIES: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered Rush 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Bamberg, Samuel A.; Major, Jack. 1968. Ecology of the vegetation and
       soils associated with calcareous parent materials in three alpine
       regions of Montana. Ecological Monographs. 38(2): 127-167.  [12554]

 .  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]

 .  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]

 .  Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed.
       Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p.  [6851]

 .  Hermann, Frederick J.; Weber, William A. 1977. Juncus triglumis in North
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 .  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
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 .  Johnson, P. L.; Billings, W. D. 1962. The alpine vegetation of the
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 .  Juday, Glenn Patrick. 1988. Alaska research natural area: 1. Mount
       Prindle. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-224. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of
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 .  Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of
       the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume
       II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North
       Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie
       Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p.  [6954]

.  Kershaw, G. Peter; Kershaw, Linda J. 1986. Ecological characteristics of
       35-year-old crude-oil spills in tundra plant communities of the
       Mackenzie Mountains, N.W.T. Canadian Journal of Botany. 64: 2935-2947. 
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.  Kershaw, K. A. 1974. Studies on lichen-dominated systems. X. The sedge
       meadows of the coastal raised beaches. Canadian Journal of Botany. 52:
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       Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27
       p.  [12049]

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       warming using peripheral rare plants in wet alpine tundra in Glacier
       National Park, Montana. 1989 Progress Report. [Unpublished report on
       file at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
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       Proceedings, Volume 43. Bozman, MT: Montana State University, Montana
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.  Lewis, Mont E. 1970. Alpine rangelands of the Uinta Mountains. Ogden,
       UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Region 4. 75 p. 
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.  Meidinger, D.; Lewis, T.; Kowall, R. 1986. Biogeoclimatic zones and
       subzones of the northern portion of the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area,
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.  Pase, Charles P. 1982. Alpine tundra. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic
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       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

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Related categories for Species: Juncus triglumis var. albescens | Three-Flowered Rush