Juncus echinatus Muhlenberg; J. engelmannii Buchenau

Herbs, perennial, cespitose, 6--10 dm. Culms erect, 3--14 mm diam. Cataphylls absent. . Leaves: basal 2--3(--6), cauline 1--4, brownish green; auricles absent; blade 8--70 cm  ã 4--8 mm. Inflorescences panicles of 16--82 heads, 10--30 cm; primary bract erect; heads 20--30-flowered, spheric, 8--12 mm diam. Flowers: tepals green to reddish, lance-subulate, 3--4 mm, nearly equal, apex acuminate; stamens 3, anthers 1/3--1/2 length of filaments. Capsules exserted, straw-colored, 1-locular, narrowly ovoid, 4--5 mm, apex tapering to beak, remaining after dehiscence. Seeds lance-ellipsoid, 0.5--0.6 mm, not tailed.

Fruiting spring--fall. Wet or seasonally wet shores, depressions, occasionally in fairly deep water of streams, usually with a peaty or mucky substrate, occasionally sandy to gravelly; 0--100 m; Ala., Fla., Ga., La., Md., Miss., N.C., S.C., Tex.