Juncus bufoniusL.

Toad Rushtoad rush

WFO wfo-0000776030 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Juncus bufonius, photographed by Grzegorz Grzejszczak
fig. a Grzegorz Grzejszczak, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-06-07 / obs. 204612468

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 213 botanical countries

Regions where Juncus bufonius is native: Algeria, Azores, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Free State, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Madeira, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Socotra, Sudan-South Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Falkland Is., Tristan da Cunha, Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Lebanon-Syria, Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Palestine, Primorye, Qinghai, Sakhalin, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, East Himalaya, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, Albania, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Føroyar, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Labrador, Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Hawaii, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil South, Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Juan Fernández Is., Leeward Is., Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela AlgeriaCape ProvincesChadEgyptEthiopiaFree StateKenyaLibyaMadagascarMauritaniaMoroccoRwandaSudan-South SudanTunisiaUgandaFalkland Is.AfghanistanAltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastChitaCyprusEast Aegean Is.HainanInner MongoliaIranIraqIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskLebanon-SyriaMagadanManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPalestinePrimoryeQinghaiSakhalinSinaiTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanTuvaUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaYemenAssamBangladeshBorneoEast HimalayaIndiaMyanmarNepalPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNew Zealand NorthNew Zealand SouthNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaTasmaniaVictoriaWestern AustraliaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyKritiKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraineAlabamaAlaskaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLabradorLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOhioOklahomaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingHawaiiArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestArgentina SouthBoliviaBrazil SouthChile CentralChile NorthChile SouthColombiaCosta RicaCubaEcuadorGuatemalaJamaicaParaguayPeruUruguayVenezuela AzoresCanary Is.MadeiraMauritiusTristan da CunhaKoreaBalearesFøroyarSardegnaRhode I.BahamasLeeward Is.
Native distribution of Juncus bufonius, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Alaska ASK
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
Arkansas ARK
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Labrador LAB
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexican Pacific Is. MXI
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Chita CTA
Cyprus CYP
East Aegean Is. EAI
Hainan CHH
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Sakhalin SAK
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Tuva TVA
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Yemen YEM
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baleares BAL
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Argentina South AGS
Bahamas BAH
Bolivia BOL
Brazil South BZS
Chile Central CLC
Chile North CLN
Chile South CLS
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Ecuador ECU
Guatemala GUA
Jamaica JAM
Juan Fernández Is. JNF
Leeward Is. LEE
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Azores AZO
Canary Is. CNY
Cape Provinces CPP
Chad CHA
Egypt EGY
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Kenya KEN
Libya LBY
Madagascar MDG
Madeira MDR
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Morocco MOR
Rwanda RWA
Socotra SOC
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tunisia TUN
Uganda UGA
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
New Zealand North NZN
New Zealand South NZS
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Tasmania TAS
Victoria VIC
Western Australia WAU
Falkland Is. FAL ANTARCTICA
Tristan da Cunha TDC
Hawaii HAW PACIFIC

Not drawn on the map: Socotra, Kuril Is., Great Britain, Mexican Pacific Is., Juan Fernández Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Flowering 118 in flower of 345 examined

Proportion of examined Juncus bufonius in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 2 21 10% 3% to 29%
Feb 4 18 22% 9% to 45%
Mar 7 17 41% 22% to 64%
Apr 12 35 34% 21% to 51%
May 23 46 50% 36% to 64%
Jun 9 25 36% 20% to 55%
Jul 5 35 14% 6% to 29%
Aug 4 28 14% 6% to 31%
Sep 7 23 30% 16% to 51%
Oct 15 30 50% 33% to 67%
Nov 19 33 58% 41% to 73%
Dec 11 34 32% 19% to 49%

Peak flowering in Nov. Each bar is the share of Juncus bufonius observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 118 of 345 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,965 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -21.7 °C -2.8 °C 9.3 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 17.3 °C 22.7 °C 30.9 °C
Annual rainfall 390 mm 732 mm 1,558 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 7 mm 111 mm 271 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,965 research-grade observations of Juncus bufonius that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one. Climate from CHELSA V2.1 (Karger et al. 2017); occurrences from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 62 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cyperus bufonius (L.) Maack ex Trautv.
  • Juncus aletaiensis K.F.Wu
  • Juncus bilineatus Gand.
  • Juncus bufonius f. alpinus (Schur) I.Grint.
  • Juncus bufonius f. bracteatus Pamp.
  • Juncus bufonius f. bufonius
  • Juncus bufonius f. congestus (Wahlenb.) Lindm.
  • Juncus bufonius f. divaricatus Racib.
  • Juncus bufonius f. filiformis Klinge
  • Juncus bufonius f. frondescens Miszczenko
  • Juncus bufonius f. giganteus (Asch. & Graebn.) Nyár.
  • Juncus bufonius f. scoparius (Asch. & Graebn.) Nyár.
  • Juncus bufonius prol. minutulus A.Albert & Jahand.
  • Juncus bufonius subsp. helaertii Sennen & Leroy
  • Juncus bufonius subsp. juzepczukii (V.I.Krecz. & Gontsch.) Soó
  • Juncus bufonius unranked frondescens Döll
  • Juncus bufonius unranked giganteus Asch. & Graebn.
  • Juncus bufonius unranked leucanthus Asch. & Graebn.
  • Juncus bufonius unranked parviflorus Asch. & Graebn.
  • Juncus bufonius unranked scoparius Asch. & Graebn.
  • Juncus bufonius var. alpinus Schur
  • Juncus bufonius var. bufonius
  • Juncus bufonius var. capillaris Rchb.
  • Juncus bufonius var. compactus Čelak.

and 38 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.