Juncus kraussi commonly known as Salt Marsh Rush Sea Rush, Matting Rush or Dune Slack Rush is of the monocot family Juncaceae

Juncaceae

Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...

 and genus Juncus

Juncus

Juncus is a genus in the plant family Juncaceae. It consists of some 200 to 300 or more species of grassy plants commonly called rushes...

. It grows in Salt marsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

es, estuarine

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 and coastal areas.
This species is ideal as a stabilizer in estuary banks and riparian zones that adjoin developed areas it prevents erosion and provides an excellent fibre for weaving.
The plant is named after a German naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

 and museum curator, Christian Krauss, who travelled to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

Description

This species is a tussock

Tussock

Tussock most often refers to a small hillock of grassy, or grass-like plant growth, but may also refer to Plants and ecology, Insects.- Plants and ecology :*Tussock *New Zealand tussock grasslands*Serrated Tussock...

 shaped perennial with many rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

s.

The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are tough, straw shaped and spine-tipped that grow to be 40 centimetres (15.7 in) - 150 centimetres (59.1 in) in length with a golden brown or shiny black sheath.
The inflorescences or flowers of J. kraussi are reddish brown to purplish brown in colour, 4 centimetres (1.6 in) - 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length and are clustered toward the end of the stem. The flowers occur clusters of three to six and flowering occurs in Summer between October and January.

Range

J. kraussi is salt tolerant and favours a damp environment and is most often found in areas such as swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s and brackish estuaries

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

. The plant is able to grow in a range of soils from sand

Sand

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...

s to alluvium

Alluvium

Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...

.

The species occurs in all states of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Southern Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.

Uses

J. kraussi is harvested and weaved to produce traditional sleeping mats, baskets, beer strainers, and other craftwork items in many Zulu areas of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. The plant is in great demand because of its economic value and has been extensively harvest

Harvest

Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...

ed in the wild. It is now cultivated in many areas and is harvested yearly for a period of seven years in total.