Juncus effusus

This grass-like rush provides outstanding form, texture and vertical accent to sunny, moist to wet areas of the landscape including water gardens, pond margins, boggy areas, wet pebbly/rocky areas or in several inches of standing water. Basal clumps of cylindrical, upright, soft-to-the-touch, green stems rise to 20-40 inches tall.

Soft rush or common rush (also bog rush or mat rush) is a grass-like, rhizomatous perennial that features cylindrical upright green stems in spreading basal clumps to 20-40î tall. Clumps provide vertical accent to moist garden areas. Although the stems a... more »

This grass-like rush provides outstanding form, texture and vertical accent to sunny, moist to wet areas of the landscape including water gardens, pond margins, boggy areas, wet pebbly/rocky areas or in several inches of standing water. Basal clumps of cylindrical, upright, soft-to-the-touch, green stems rise to 20-40 inches tall.

Soft rush or common rush (also bog rush or mat rush) is a grass-like, rhizomatous perennial that features cylindrical upright green stems in spreading basal clumps to 20-40î tall. Clumps provide vertical accent to moist garden areas. Although the stems appear from a distance as coarse and stiff, they are soft to the touch. Soft rush is native to North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In many locations it is considered to be a somewhat aggressive weed. Juncus effuses var. solutus is commonly found in central and southern Missouri in stream margins, sloughs, ponds, wet depressions in fields, pastures and prairies and in roadside ditches (Steyermark). Soft rush is one of the true rushes. The plant leaves are reduced to bladeless sheathing at the stem bases. Insignificant, tiny, yellowish-green to pale brown flowers appear in clusters (many flowered cymes) that emerge on the side of the stems slightly below the stem tips in summer. Foliage turns yellow in fall before browning up for winter. Soft rush is commercially grown in Japan for making tatami (woven mats for homes). From ancient times until the early 1900s, soft rush stems were used in England to create inexpensive, candle-like evening lights called ìrushlights.î Rush stems were peeled away and the inner pith was soaked in animal fat, grease or wax. When dry, the pith could be lit at one end (sometimes both ends) and burned like a candle. Juncus means rush, and effusus means loose-spreading in probable reference to plant habit. (less)