List by family
Juncaceae
Annual or perennial herbs with robust tussocks of green stems. Flowers in terminal cymes varying in colour from greenish to brown and black. Flowers appear to occur on one side of the stem due to an erect bract continuing above the flowerhead. Fruit is a 3-celled capsule. Leaves are always glabrous and arranged in a basal rosette. Taxonomic characteristics to use in identification are colour, stem length, appearance of pith when cut longitudinally, basal sheaths and arrangement of the inflorescence.
Image: Alison Kellow
Juncaginaceae
Annual or perennial plants with strap-like leaves, congested flowers are in terminal heads. Aquatic species with floating leaves are called water ribbons, while swamp species with narrow grass-like leaves are called arrow grass because the fruits are shaped like an arrowhead.
Image: Mary Ellis