Juncus acutus

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Juncaceae
Genus: Juncus
Species: Juncus acutus
Subspecies: J. a. subsp. acutus – J. a. subsp. leopoldi
Name

Juncus acutus L., Sp. Pl. 1: 325. 1753.
Synonyms

Homotypic
Juncus acutus var. conglobatus Trautv., Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 5: 480 (1878), nom. inval.
Juncus acutus var. conglomeratus Buchenau, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 12: 250 (1890), nom. inval.
Juncus acutus megalocarpus Asch. & Graebn., Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2(2): 453 (1904), nom. inval.
Juncus maritimus subsp. acutus (L.) Douin in G.E.M.Bonnier, Fl. Ill. France 11: 59 (1931), nom. illeg.

Homonyms

Juncus acutus Torr. = Juncus acutus subsp. acutus

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Northern Europe
Great Britain, Ireland.
Regional: Southwestern Europe
Baleares, Corse, France, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Sicilia, Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia.
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara.
Regional: Macaronesia
Azores (introduced), Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira.
Regional: Southern Africa
Cape Provinces, Lesotho, Namibia, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State.
Regional: Middle Atlantic Ocean
Ascension.
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Middle Asia
Turkmenistan.
Regional: Caucasus
North Caucasus, Transcaucasus.
Regional: Western Asia
Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Sinai, Turkey.
Regional: Arabian Peninsula
Kuwait.
Continental: Australasia (introduced)
Regional: Australia
New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia.
Regional: New Zealand
New Zealand North.
Continental: Northern America
Regional: Southwestern U.S.A.
Arizona, California, Nevada.
Regional: Mexico
Mexico Northwest.
Continental: Southern America
Regional: Caribbean
Bermuda.
Regional: Brazil
Brazil South.
Regional: Southern South America
Argentina Northeast, Argentina South, Argentina Northwest, Chile North, Chile South, Juan Fernández Islands, Uruguay.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 325. Reference page. 

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Juncus acutus in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Mar 03. Reference page. 
Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Juncus acutus in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Mar 03. Reference page. 
Hassler, M. 2022. Juncus acutus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Mar 03. Reference page. 
Tropicos.org 2022. Juncus acutus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 03 Mar 2022.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Juncus acutus. Published online. Accessed: Mar 03 2022.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Juncus acutus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
English: spiny rush, sharp rush, sharp-pointed rush
español: hunco, ira, juncia, junco, junco con borla, junco con flueque, junco espinoso, junco redondo, junco silvestre, junquera, junquilla
suomi: Pistinvihvilä

Juncus acutus, the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae found throughout the Americas, Northern and Southern Africa, Western and Southern Europe and West Asia.[2]

It grows in salt marshes[3] and on dunes[4] and is reliable for reducing erosion rates.[5] In some countries like Australia it is considered to be an invasive weed[6] and the spines harmful to young children.[7]
Contents

1 Synonyms
2 Description
3 Gallery
4 Distribution
5 Community species
6 Chemistry
7 References
8 External links

Synonyms

Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii (Parl.) Snog. -- Leopold's rush[8]
Juncus acutus L. var. sphaerocarpus Engelm[9]
Juncus acutus L. subsp. acutus
Juncus spinosus Forssk[10]
Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii also known as Leopold's rush is a native of Arizona, California, Georgia and Nevada.[1][9]
Juncus acutus L. var. conglobatus Trautv
Juncus acutus L. var. decompositus Guss
Juncus acutus L. var. longibracteatus Buchenau[11]

Description

Juncus acutus is a brown and green[12] "tussocky"[7] perennial that can be to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft)[12] tall in all kinds of soils,[13] in areas which go from extremes in flood and dry like dunes[4] or that just stay wet like lowland grassland and grassy woodland, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetland, and saline and subsaline wetlands.[14]

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.[7]
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.[7] The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by the wind.[13]
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.[7]
Roots
Short[7] and robust rhizomes.[12]

Distribution

Found principally in low-lying damp, low fertility areas[14] like sandy sea shores and dune slacks and coastal flats,[14] occasionally in salt marshes[13] and disturbed saline areas, mine dumps, lowland grassland and grassy woodland, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetland, and saline and subsaline wetlands[14]

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:

Ipomoea pes-caprae
Hydrocotyle bonariensis
Senecio crassiflorus[4]

In a natural shallow depression in the Murray River floodplain in South Australia:

Muehlenbeckia florulenta
Atriplex semibaccata
Halosarcia pergranulata ssp. pergranulata
Mimulus repens
Ludwigia peploides ssp. montevidensis
Phragmites australis
Paspalum vaginatum[citation needed]

Chemistry

The dimeric phenanthrenoid 8,8'-bidehydrojuncusol and the monomeric juncusol[15] and dehydrojuncusol can be isolated from J. acutus.[16]
References

"Juncus acutus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2008-04-26.
"Juncus acutus". www.worldplants.de. World Plants: Complete Plant List. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"Australia Spiny Rush". Weed Identification. Australian Weeds Committee, National Weeds Strategy. Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
"Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "PLANTS Profile, Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
"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.
"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.
Helen Coleman, FloraBase: Flora of Western Australia (2007-09-11). "Juncus acutus L." Flora Descriptions. Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
"Juncus acutus". Species Database. Plants For A Future. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
"Spiny Rush (Juncus acutus) (Nox)". Victorian Resources Online. The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
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. PMID 17666857.
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. S2CID 24392241.