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Juncinella capitata
Also called Leafybract Dwarf Rush, Capped Rush, Leafy Bracted Dwarf Rush
Juncinella capitata, the dwarf rush, is a tiny annual rush under 10 cm tall that grows in seasonally wet ground that dries out in summer, such as vernal pools and sea-cliff ledges. It is a wild plant rather than a commonly grown garden or houseplant, and it is best grown from seed sown in autumn in moist, open conditions.
Juncinella capitata (synonym Juncus capitatus) is a species of rush known by the common names dwarf rush and leafybract dwarf rush. It is native to Europe, parts of western and central Asia, and parts of northern, eastern, west-central, and southern Africa. It is also an introduced species in parts of North America such as California and the Gulf Coast. It grows in moist areas, such as wet sand, vernal pools, and ditches.
The species was first described as Juncus capitatus by Christian Ehrenfried Weigel in 1772. In 2023 Lenka Záveská Drábková and Jarosław Proćków placed the species in the newly-described genus Juncinella as Juncinella capitata.
The dwarf rush is native to Europe, parts of Western Asia (East Aegean Islands, Turkey, and the Levant), Kazakhstan, and North Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia), East Africa (Ethiopia and Kenya), west-central Africa (Cameroon), and southern Africa (Lesotho and the Cape Provinces, Northern Provinces, and Free State of South Africa). In the British Isles it is only known from Anglesey, Cornwall and the Channel Islands, and is rare in all these locations. It germinates in autumn and grows in places where water stands in winter and which dry up completely in summer, meaning the plant faces little competition. These locations include rock ledges on sea cliffs, around outcrops of serpentine rock and in dune slacks. In some locations it has sometimes been thought to be locally extinct, but then reappeared later.
Spiny rush · Arctic rush · Jointleaf rush · Mexican Rush · Baltic Rush · Toad rush · Bulbous rush · Canadian rush · Dudley's rush · Common rush · Swordleaf rush · Thread rush
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Juncinella capitata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
