23. Juncus articulatus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 327. 1753.
小花灯心草 xiao hua deng xin cao
Juncus lampocarpus Ehrhart ex Hoffmann; J. lampocarpus var. senescens Buchenau.
Plants perennial, tufted or rhizome creeping, (10--)15--40(--60) cm tall. Stems terete, 0.8--1.5 mm in diam. Cataphylls absent to 2. Cauline leaves 2--6; leaf sheath auricles well developed, acute, free part ca. 2 mm, membranous; leaf blade terete or somewhat laterally compressed, 2.5--7.5(--10) cm × 0.8--1.4 mm, perfectly septate. Inflorescences usually broad; branches rigid, spreading; involucral bract erect to ascending, 0.7--3 cm; heads 5--30, hemispheric to toplike, 5--10(--15)-flowered. Perianth segments reddish brown with greenish midvein, lanceolate, 2.5--3 mm, subequal, apex acute. Stamens 6, 1/2--3/4 as long as perianth; filaments 0.7--0.9 mm; anthers oblong, 0.5--1 mm. Capsule dark brown, shiny, trigonous ovoid, 3--3.5 mm, apex sharply acute and tapered to a conspicuous tip. Seeds ovoid, 0.5--0.7 mm, reticulate. Fl. Jun--Jul, fr. Aug--Sep. 2 n = 80.
Wet meadows, sand, along rivers, edges of water along ditches; 1200--3700 m. Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan [Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kashmir, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia (E Siberia), Vietnam; Africa, Europe, North America].