Path Rush

Path Rush

Juncus tenuis

Path Rush, also known as Poverty Rush, is a tufted perennial with fibrous roots that grows 6-28 inches tall. It is ideal for streambank or drainage stabilization due to its bunched growth form, and ability to grow in saturated and compacted soils. It is also useful as a groundcover, or water plant in a rain garden, a food source for upland gamebirds and granivorous songbirds, nest construction, and as cover for foraging animals. Path Rush has an ability to grow in wet, compacted, clayey soils and proliferates in highly trafficked and/or rocky areas. It typically prefers full sun to light shade with wet to mesic soil moisture levels, and heavy clay loam, clay, or gravelly soils. It grows on freshwater sites that have saturated soil conditions during the winter and dry conditions during the summer. It is common in disturbed areas with seeps and springs, such as prairies, meadows, shaded roads, and ditches.