Juncus fontanesii, also known as Desfontaines' rush, is a species of rush in the family Juncaceae.
Description Resembling a J. articulatus with sprawling stems, or for ssp. brachyanthus mat-forming.
Inflorescence is a lax display of spherical heads of flowers.
The leaves are tubular with inner cross divisions chambering the leaf into long sections very obvious when opened or dried; there are no lengthwise divisions.
The stems, as well as upright ones, sprawl on the ground and in the case of ssp. fontanesii these ground stems are conspicuously long (to 2 m) and frequent, for the others they are at most few, though there are underground rhizomes.
The fruit capsule is conspicuously longer than the 6 tepals and for ssp pyramidatus and ssp kotschyi is contracted at the top with a sizeable tip (like J. articulatus but clearly longer, 0.5-1(1.5) mm) whilst for ssp. fontanesii the fruit tip gradually tapers (1–2 mm).
The tepals are rather greenish with narrowly acutely pointed tips (not rounded), with the inner 3 tepals longer than the outer 3 (in contrast to J. articulatus where longer tepals are the outer). They are over 3mm (except ssp. brachyanthus).
ssp. kotschyi is small (8-15 (rarely 25) cm) with tepals with broad pale margins (ssp. pyramidalis very narrow pale margins).
Occasional intermediates between ssp. fontanesii and ssp. pyramidatus are found from Italy eastwards.
This is a Mediterranean/West-Asian species; outside that range there may be species resembling it.Species Plantarum / Flora of the World / Part 7. Juncaceae 2: Juncus subg. Juncus, 2002, compiled by Jan Kirschner
Distribution and habitat Species - Mediterranean countries and a little eastward. ssp. fontanesii - Mediterranean (Albania, Algeria, Baleares, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia).Plants of the World Online (with map) (ssp fontanesii) Open wet soil, humid grasslands of tall grasses and rushes, margins of watercourses and temporarily inundated places, 0–1000 m. ssp. pyramidatus (Laharpe) Snogerup - Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen.Plants of the World Online (with map) (ssp pyramidatus) Wet places, margins of watercourses, temporarily wet grasslands, 0–1200 m but in desert areas to 2500 m. ssp. kotschyi (Boiss.) Snogerup - Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Turkmenistan.Plants of the World Online (with map) (ssp kotschyi) Wet meadows near streams, ditches, mostly 1200–2500 m. ssp. brachyanthus Trab. - Algeria, Morocco.Plants of the World Online (with map) (ssp brachyanthus) Mountain meadows, wet sites along streams, 1500–3000 m.
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