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

Arctic Rush (subsp. arcticus) Juncus arcticus subsp. arcticus subspecies

Arctic Rush (subsp. arcticus) is an introduced perennial grass, found in the lower 48 states.

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
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 5 derived from its U.S. range
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 (13) 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)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[11] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[12] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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