This annual rush with a wide palaeo-temperate distribution is present in almost all regions of Italy (missing in Trentino-Alto Adige, Marche and Abruzzo, not reported since a long time from Friuli Venezia Giulia); in Northern Italy the species is very rare and vanishing almost everywhere. The life-cycle can be spent part in water, part on moist to dry soil. It grows in moist, rather disturbed sites at the edge of ephemeral pools, on sandy, generally siliceous soils, from sea level to about 1000 m. It is a characteristic species of the Mediterranean temporary ponds, but in Sardinia it is rare, in the outer belt of the temporary ponds. The genus name, from the Latin 'iúngere' (to join, to tie), refers to the ancient use of weaving the stems and leaves of rush species to create different objects; the species name derives from the Greek 'tenagos' (pond, marsh) in reference to the habitat. Flowering period: May to July. |
