. Common plants of longleaf pine-bluestem range. Plant ecology; Grasses; Forage plants. ROUNDHEAD RUSH Juncus validus Coville Roundhead rush grows mainly in swales, drain- ages, and sandy flatwoods. It forms loose, leafy clumps of stems 2 to 3 feet tall. Although it is not generally abundant, its large, stiff inflorescence is conspicuous. Flower stalks emerge in midspring and seeds ma- ture by early summer. The inflorescence branches as it grows, often spreading to a foot or more at maturity. Spherical flower heads, about V2 inch in diameter, are scattered throughout the inflores- cence. Leave
. Common plants of longleaf pine-bluestem range. Plant ecology; Grasses; Forage plants. ROUNDHEAD RUSH Juncus validus Coville Roundhead rush grows mainly in swales, drain- ages, and sandy flatwoods. It forms loose, leafy clumps of stems 2 to 3 feet tall. Although it is not generally abundant, its large, stiff inflorescence is conspicuous. Flower stalks emerge in midspring and seeds ma- ture by early summer. The inflorescence branches as it grows, often spreading to a foot or more at maturity. Spherical flower heads, about V2 inch in diameter, are scattered throughout the inflores- cence. Leaves are mostly basal, the largest about 12 inches long and V4 inch wide. They are slightly flattened, hollow, and segmented by internal parti- tions that impart a knotty feel to the surface. This "knotleaf" characteristic is common to several spe- cies, however, including needlepod rush. The flat- tened leaves of roundhead rush superficially re- semble those of iris (Iris spp.) and blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium spp.), but the knotty blades are useful in distinguishing the species before flower stalks appear. The closely related flatleaf rush, Juncus polycephalus Michx., has strongly flattened leaves and its capsules are capped by a solid beak, not split at the tip as in roundhead rush. Roundhead rush is fair forage in late winter and early spring. Cattle graze it little, if any, the rest of the year. Range: Texas to Mississippi and Missouri. Perennial. Stems erect, 30-80 cm. tall, from short, knotty rhizomes; leaves 2-7 mm. wide, up to 40 cm. long, conspicu- ously septate; sheaths scarious-margined, terminated by lanceolate auricles 2-4 cm. long; inflorescence an open, widely branching cyme, up to 50 cm. wide, with spherical, many-flowered heads at branch tips and in axils; heads cm. in diameter; flowers with sepals and petals equal, lance-subulate, 4-6 mm. long; fruit a lance-subulate capsule, exceeding the Leaf detail Habit Roundhead rush 44. Please n
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