permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>]

Kai Vido wrote:

> Juncus= Rush 

Wikipedia:
Juncus is a genus in the family Juncaceae. It consists of about 225 species of grassy plants commonly called rushes. 
They occur in all wet regions of the world, but rarely in the tropics. Many are considered weeds in gardening, and few 
are used as ornamental plants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Illustration_Juncus_articulatus0.jpg
Juncus species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera that 
feed on Juncus.
Uses: In Ireland it is sometimes woven into baskets, used as thatch to roof houses, or used to make items such as a 
Brigid's cross. In the state of Victoria, Australia, prehistoric people used plaited rushes to harvest trapped eels.

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/juncus.html
University of Florida, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
Juncus species  rushes
These are the true rushes with more than 20 wetland species in Florida (Wunderlin, 1998).. They first may be noticed as 
clumps of stems growing in crowded stands, 2-5 ft. tall. They grow in saline and freshwater wetlands throughout Florida. 
Some species have no leaf blades, others have narrow blades. Some have large spherical heads, others have clusters of 
spiky brown flowers. Rushes are widely distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada (Kartesz, 1999).
Juncus species are true rushes. Clump-forming and /or colonial; stems round, unbranched, bright green to dark gray; leaf 
blades absent or narrow-flattened or cylindrical; sheaths at stem bases open; inflorescences stalked, usually open, with 
many branches and branchlets; spikelets on the branches have small green, brown or reddish flowers; fruit a capsule.

><
From the above description I think I can identify a plant growing in damp 
areas on my property, clumpy with round stems
as being a low growing species of rush.

> Scirpus= Bulrush (common name also applied to other genera)

Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Scirpus_atrovirens.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scirpus
The plant genus Scirpus consists of a large number of aquatic, grass-like species in the family Cyperaceae (the sedges), 
many with the common names club-rush or bulrush (see also bulrush for other plants so-named). Other common names are 
deergrass or grassweed.
The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows in wetlands and moist soil. Some species specialize in saline, 
marshy, environments such as intertidal mud-flats; others prefer ponds or lake-sides and river-beds. They have 
grass-like leaves, and clusters of small spikelets, often brown in colour. Some species (e.g. S. lacustris) can reach a 
height of 3 m, while others (e.g. S. supinus) are much smaller, only reaching 20-30 cm tall.
Scirpus species are often planted to inhibit soil erosion and provide habitat for other wildlife. They are also used in 
some herbal remedies; the plant's rhizomes are collected in the autumn and winter and dried in the sun before use.
The taxonomy of the genus is complex, and under discussion by botanists. Recent studies by taxonomists of the Cyperaceae 
have resulted in the creation of several new genera, including the genera Schoenoplectus and Bolboschoenus; others 
(including Blysmus, Isolepis, Nomochloa, and Scirpoides) have also been used. At one point this genus held almost 300 
species, but many of the species once assigned to this genus have now been re-assigned, and it now holds an estimated 
120 species.
Scirpus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera 
species including Batrachedra cuniculata.

> Typha= Cattail 

I am familiar with this one.

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typha
great page on cattails