Guess This Plant

September 2020 – Guess That Plant

This is the FNJP’s 114th edition of Guess that Plant!

The September 2020 Guess that Plant photo is native wetland perennial and is one of a few similar species. A clue: it has a hollow stem.  Do you know this species by it color and shape? If so, send your answer for this month’s  Guess that Plant.   

August’s Plant: 

Juncus scirpoides Lam., Needlepod Rush

The August 2020 Guess that Plant was a native rush common to New Jersey’s Coastal Plain. Needlepod rush specific Latin name scripoides is a moniker based on its hemispherical flowering heads that resemblance to the sedge genus Scirpus. The species is a wetland perennial at home on field edges as well as along pond shorelines.  USDA and Hough (1983) identify the plant has vouchers from every Coastal Plain county with the exception of Mercer and Salem.  The photo used for this month’s quiz is from a well established Carneys Point populations providing evidence of its existence in Salem County. Juncus scirpoides flowering heads are small and stiff.  This stiffness provides a “hands on” identification clue.

JRA 9/2020