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Pictured: Juncus arcticus — the species. This subspecies isn’t separately illustrated.
Juncaceae family

Alaska Rush (subsp. alaskanus) Juncus arcticus subsp. alaskanus subspecies

Native

Alaska Rush (subsp. alaskanus) is a perennial grass native to Alaska and Canada.

More about this plant

Juncus arcticus, called the arctic rush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Juncaceae, native to the subarctic and subalpine northern hemisphere. It is typically found in wetland and riparian habitats. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~6 caterpillar species

Juncus supports ~6 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.

Recorded feeding on Juncus in North America, including:

Bactra furfurana · leafroller moth Bactra lanceolana · leafroller moth Bactra verutana · Javelin Moth Coleophora bispinatella · casebearer moth Coleophora caespititiella · casebearer moth Coleophora concolorella · casebearer moth
+ 8 more species →
Coleophora cratipennella · Streaked Coleophora Coleophora dentiferoides · casebearer moth Coleophora fagicorticella · casebearer moth Coleophora maritella · casebearer moth Coleophora quadrilineella · casebearer moth Coleophora sexdentatella · casebearer moth Coleophora viridicuprella · casebearer moth Oeneis jutta · Jutta Arctic
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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