Juncus covillei was first described by Charles Vancouver Piper in Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 11: 182.

[1] Juncus: the generic name was derived from the Latin word jungere meaning "to unite or bind", which comes from the fact that the stems join or intertwine.

[2] colvillei: the species was named in honor of American botanist Frederick Vernon Coville.

It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Idaho to California, where it grows in moist habitat, often in forested areas.

[3] This is a perennial herb forming clumps of erect stems up to about 25 centimeters tall from a thick rhizome.