Rushes are almost ubiquitous in wet meadows in Britain and elsewhere. They make strong clumps of tough, narrow, pointed leaves with a circular cross-section, towards the top of which come the flowers, a rather non-descript brown tuft. Cultivated forms in which the leaves spiral instead of growing straight provide unusual interest.

Juncus effusus f. spiralis is the Corkscrew rush, with wonderfully weird spiral stems that are a feature in themselves, so the loose clusters of small brown flowers can't really compete for interest! A fun plant for an acidic bog garden.