Path rush is native to and found throughout North America. It prefers full sun to light shade,
and clay-loam or gravelly soils and a wide range of wetness.
Plants: Path rush, so-called because it is tough enough to
grow right in the middle of trails, is easy to miss at first, looking like grass from a distance. But it
is very common. Path rush is less than 1′ (30 cm) high.
Leaves: Leaf blades are basal, and very thin, resembling pine needles, but
up close they are narrow and flat, sometimes rolled slightly at the edges, resembling a slice of celery in
cross-section. The blades are hairless, ~1/32″ (0.5-1 mm) wide, and medium green in color, darkening later in the season.
Flowers: Tiny light greenish flowers consist of three petals and three sepals.
They look nearly identical to each other, creating starlike flowers about ¼″ (6.3 mm) around. Each petal
and sepal is 1/16-3/16″ (3-5 mm) long. Flowers appear from April to May.
Fruits: Seed capsules are ovoid, about 1/16-3/16″ (3-5 mm) long and
1/16-⅛″ (2-3 mm) around. The petals and sepals remain, now loosely wrapped around the capsule.
Each capsule has three sections, a small point on top, and is filled with tiny seeds less than 1/32″ (0.5 mm)
long.