Deep Dive on Rushes (Juncus) Workshop
Offered by the North Coast Chapter of CNPS and Cal Poly Humboldt Biology Graduate Student Association
April 4, 2026, 9:00 am—5:00 pm, Cal Poly Humboldt, Arcata
Workshop Description
Juncus is a diverse, ecologically important, and taxonomically complex genus. Though beautiful and common, many rushes can be challenging to identify. With nearly 80 taxa occurring in California, several rare taxa, and many wetland dominants, the ability to sight-recognize and key them is critical to conducting wetland delineations, habitat assessments, and vegetation typing, as well as implementing habitat restoration and management projects.
With a focus on northwestern California taxa, this workshop offers tools for demystifying some of the challenging key steps and morphologic characteristics in the Jepson Manual 2nd. ed., and Jepson eFlora. We will also review relevant name changes and give an overview of several taxonomic complexes as described in the Flora of North America (FNA) and the taxonomic literature. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of several widely-distributed rushes in California. Techniques and tips for distinguishing and keying closely related taxa will be valuable to wetland ecologists, field botanists, horticulturalists, land managers, and botany students.
Workshop Objectives
This introductory workshop is suitable for those with beginning to intermediate experience with keying Juncus. Principal workshop goals are to 1) increase understanding of common morphological terms used in the Jepson Manual 2nd. ed., Jepson eFlora and other floras; 2) demystify challenging or unclear key couplets; 3) review several closely related species complexes, and; 4) increase familiarity with several common northwestern California taxa. The workshop will begin with a broad overview of Juncus evolution, taxonomy, morphology, ecology, and biogeography. The remainder of the workshop will be keying and discussing many taxa occurring in each of the six groups in the Jepson Manual 2nd. ed., and Jepson eFlora.
Cost: $150 CNPS members; $200 non-CNPS members; Students; $35
Registration: Register Opens February 1, 2026. Register on-line at northcoastcnps.org.
Instructors:
Heather Davis is a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences at Cal Poly Humboldt. She studies speciation events within the Silene hookeri complex. Her main interests include sedges and grasses, phylogenetics and morphometrics of California native plants. Heather has been working as a lead botanist for 4 years and is currently a teaching associate for Plant Taxonomy at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Annie Allen
Gordon Leppig is a retired Senior Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and has been a student of sedges and wetland plants for over 30 years. He has written widely on introduced and rare plants, conservation, and aquatic habitats.