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].

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