Juncus acutus

Juncus acutus, the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae.

Juncus acutus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Juncaceae
Genus: Juncus
Species:
J. acutus
Binomial name
Juncus acutus

It grows in salt marshes[2] and on dunes[3] and is reliable for reducing erosion rates.[4] In some countries like Australia it is considered to be an invasive weed[5] and the spines harmful to young children.[6]

Synonyms
  • Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii (Parl.) Snog. -- Leopold's rush[7]
  • Juncus acutus L. var. sphaerocarpus Engelm[8]
  • Juncus acutus L. subsp. acutus
  • Juncus spinosus Forssk[9]
  • Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii also known as Leopold's rush is a native of Arizona, California, Georgia and Nevada.[1][8]
  • Juncus acutus L. var. conglobatus Trautv
  • Juncus acutus L. var. decompositus Guss
  • Juncus acutus L. var. longibracteatus Buchenau[10]

Description

Juncus acutus is a brown and green[11] "tussocky"[6] perennial that can be to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft)[11] tall in all kinds of soils,[12] in areas which go from extremes in flood and dry like dunes[3] or that just stay wet like lowland grassland and grassy woodland, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetland, and saline and subsaline wetlands.[13]

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.[6]
Flowers
The flower stems are 2 millimetres (0.079 in) to 4 millimetres (0.16 in) in diameter and 4 centimetres (1.6 in) to 13 centimetres (5.1 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 4 centimetres (1.6 in) to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long bracts that terminate in a stiff and sharp point.[6] The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by the wind.[12]
Fruits and reproduction
Fruits are oval 3-celled brown capsules 4 millimetres (0.16 in) to 6 millimetres (0.24 in). The 1.2 millimetres (0.047 in) to 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long brown seeds have a tail at each end.[6]
Roots
Short[6] and robust rhizomes.[11]
Juncus acutus

Distribution

Found principally in low-lying damp, low fertility areas[13] like sandy sea shores and dune slacks and coastal flats,[13] occasionally in salt marshes[12] and disturbed saline areas, mine dumps, lowland grassland and grassy woodland, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetland, and saline and subsaline wetlands[13]

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[1]

Community species
In Brazil, J. acutus has been observed on the Santa Catarina coast living in communities with:
In a natural shallow depression in the Murray River floodplain in South Australia:

Chemistry

The dimeric phenanthrenoid 8,8'-bidehydrojuncusol and the monomeric juncusol[14] and dehydrojuncusol can be isolated from J. acutus.[15]

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References
  1. "Juncus acutus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  2. Baba, A.; Howard, K.W.F.; Orhan, G. (2006). "Groundwater in Semi-Arid Mediterranean Areas". Groundwater and Ecosystems. Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN 1-4020-4736-3.
  3. Schardosim, Alecsandro; Klein, Vanilde; Citadini-Zanette, Robson dos Santos (September 2007). "Florística e estrutura comunitária de restinga herbácea no município de Araranguá, Santa Catarina". Biotemas (in Portuguese). 20 (3): 15–26. – 1643. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  4. De Baets, S.; Poesen, J.; Knapen, A.; Barberá, G.G.; Navarro, J.A. (2007). "Root characteristics of representative Mediterranean plant species and their erosion-reducing potential during concentrated runoff" (PDF). Geophysical Research Abstracts. European Geosciences Union. 9. ISSN 1607-7962. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  5. Parsons, W. T.; Cuthbertson, E. G. (2001). "FAMILY Juncaceae". Noxious Weeds of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 712 pages. ISBN 0-643-06514-8. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  6. "Australia Spiny Rush". Weed Identification. Australian Weeds Committee, National Weeds Strategy. Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  7. "Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  8. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "PLANTS Profile, Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  9. "Juncus acutus L. subsp. acutus record n° 41763". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  10. "Juncus acutus L. record n° 160745". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  11. Helen Coleman, FloraBase: Flora of Western Australia (2007-09-11). "Juncus acutus L." Flora Descriptions. Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  12. "Juncus acutus". Species Database. Plants For A Future. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  13. "Spiny Rush (Juncus acutus) (Nox)". Victorian Resources Online. The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  14. Fathi Abdelmohsen Abdelhalim Behery; Zain Elabdin Metwally Naeem; Galal Taha Maatooq; Mohamed Mahmoud Abdelfattah Amer; Zhi-Hong Wen; Jyh-Horng Sheu; Atallah Fouad Ahmed (2007). "Phenanthrenoids from Juncus acutus L., New Natural Lipopolysaccharide-Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors". Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 55 (8): 1264–1266. doi:10.1248/cpb.55.1264.
  15. Behery, FA; Naeem, ZE; Maatooq, GT; Amer, MM; Ahmed, AF (2013). "A novel antioxidant phenanthrenoid dimer from Juncus acutus L.". Nat Prod Res. 27 (2): 155–163. doi:10.1080/14786419.2012.662759. PMID 22360833.

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