OregonFlora: Eleocharis bolanderi vs. Eleocharis

	Eleocharis bolanderi	Eleocharis
	Bolander's spikerush	spikerush
Habit	Plants perennial, densely cespitose; rhizomes caudex-like, mostly hidden by culms and roots, short, 1.5–3 mm thick, internodes very short.	Herbs annual or perennial, usually cespitose, often rhizomatous, sometimes stoloniferous; rhizomes rarely with terminal tubers or bulbs, horizontal and long or ascending and caudex-like, scales conspicuous to absent.
Culms	subterete, 10–30 cm × 0.3–0.5 mm.	sometimes solitary; terete or 4-angled; smooth or ridged when dry.
Leaves		basal, 2 per culm; ligules absent; blades absent or a mucro or awn (tooth) at apex of sheath.
Inflorescences		terminal; spike 1; involucral bracts absent, rarely a proximal scale of spike resembling short bract.
Spikes	ovoid, 3–8 × 2–3 mm; proximal scale clasping; entire, subproximal scale with flower; floral scales 8–30, 4–5 per mm of rachilla, 2–3 × 1.5 mm; apex entire; acute, often keeled in distal part of spike.	ovoid to cylindric; scales 4–500 or more, spirally arranged; each subtending a flower or the proximal 1–2(3) empty.
Flowers	perianth bristles 3–6, often unequal; from rudimentary to 50% of achene length; anthers 0.9–1.4 mm; stigmas 3.	bisexual; perianth of (0)3–6(10) bristles; straight or curved; shorter than to 2 times longer than achene; margins spinulose or smooth; stamens 1–3; style, bases forming a tubercle that is usually persistent, usually enlarged, usually different in appearance from achene; stigmas 2–3.
Achenes	slightly to greatly compressed-trigonous, rarely thickly lenticular, 0.9–1.2 × 0.65–0.8 mm.	ellipsoid, obovoid, or obpyriform; biconvex; plano-convex, or trigonous to subterete.
Distal leaf sheaths	persistent, not splitting; apex obtuse, rarely hardened, lacking a tooth.
Tubercles	flat to shallowly pyramidal; lower than wide, 0.1–0.3 × 0.4–0.65 mm.	sharply distinct from or merging with the achene.

	Eleocharis bolanderi	Eleocharis
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[BONAP county map]
Discussion	Shallow, rocky, ephemeral streams. 1100–2100 m. BR, BW, Owy. CA, NV, ID; east to CO. Native. Eleocharis bolanderi is easily recognized in summer when it forms masses of dry, brown, dormant and apparently dead culms in dry stream beds. It is easily pulled up to expose its cespitose habit. The virtually flat tubercles are particularly distinctive.	Cosmopolitan. Approximately 200 species; 16 species treated in Flora. When collecting Eleocharis, get the underground parts and a lot of extra spikes! Identification usually requires ripping up spikes to view the rachilla and the flower, or lack thereof, just above the lower two floral scales. Most of these plants produce mature fruits in late summer or fall; they may not be identifiable if collected early in the season. For the purposes of this key, achene length is a measurement of the achene only, without the tubercle (persistent style base). Culms that are smooth when fresh may become ridged when dry. Culms of pressed specimens become flattened even if the culms were quadrangular in life, so determining the original shape requires rehydrating a section of culm. Culm widths are for culms pressed flat. Widths of floral scales are for flattened scales and can be determined by measuring the distance from midrib to one margin and doubling that. The proximal scale is the lowest in the spike; the subproximal scale is the second lowest. Reports of E. coloradoensis in Oregon remain unsubstantiated. If found, this species would key to either E. quinqueflora or E. suksdorfiana, however, unlike these species, the achenes of E. coloradoensis are less than 1.3 mm long.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 240 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 238 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Sibling taxa	E. acicularis, E. bella, E. decumbens, E. engelmannii, E. erythropoda, E. macrostachya, E. obtusa, E. ovata, E. palustris, E. parishii, E. parvula, E. quadrangulata, E. quinqueflora, E. rostellata, E. suksdorfiana
Subordinate taxa		E. acicularis, E. bella, E. bolanderi, E. decumbens, E. engelmannii, E. erythropoda, E. macrostachya, E. obtusa, E. ovata, E. palustris, E. parishii, E. parvula, E. quadrangulata, E. quinqueflora, E. rostellata, E. suksdorfiana
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Eleocharis

Bolander's spikerush

spikerush

Habit

Plants perennial, densely cespitose; rhizomes caudex-like, mostly hidden by culms and roots, short, 1.5–3 mm thick, internodes very short.

Herbs annual or perennial, usually cespitose, often rhizomatous, sometimes stoloniferous; rhizomes rarely with terminal tubers or bulbs, horizontal and long or ascending and caudex-like, scales conspicuous to absent.

Culms

subterete, 10–30 cm × 0.3–0.5 mm.

sometimes solitary; terete or 4-angled; smooth or ridged when dry.

Leaves

basal, 2 per culm;

ligules absent;

blades absent or a mucro or awn (tooth) at apex of sheath.

Inflorescences

terminal;

spike 1;

involucral bracts absent, rarely a proximal scale of spike resembling short bract.

Spikes

ovoid, 3–8 × 2–3 mm;

proximal scale clasping; entire, subproximal scale with flower; floral scales 8–30, 4–5 per mm of rachilla, 2–3 × 1.5 mm;

apex entire; acute, often keeled in distal part of spike.

ovoid to cylindric;

scales 4–500 or more, spirally arranged; each subtending a flower or the proximal 1–2(3) empty.

Flowers

perianth bristles 3–6, often unequal; from rudimentary to 50% of achene length;

anthers 0.9–1.4 mm;

stigmas 3.

bisexual;

perianth of (0)3–6(10) bristles; straight or curved; shorter than to 2 times longer than achene;

margins spinulose or smooth;

stamens 1–3; style, bases forming a tubercle that is usually persistent, usually enlarged, usually different in appearance from achene;

stigmas 2–3.

Achenes

slightly to greatly compressed-trigonous, rarely thickly lenticular, 0.9–1.2 × 0.65–0.8 mm.

ellipsoid, obovoid, or obpyriform; biconvex; plano-convex, or trigonous to subterete.

Distal leaf sheaths

persistent, not splitting;

apex obtuse, rarely hardened, lacking a tooth.

Tubercles

flat to shallowly pyramidal; lower than wide, 0.1–0.3 × 0.4–0.65 mm.

sharply distinct from or merging with the achene.

Eleocharis bolanderi

Eleocharis

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Shallow, rocky, ephemeral streams. 1100–2100 m. BR, BW, Owy. CA, NV, ID; east to CO. Native.

Eleocharis bolanderi is easily recognized in summer when it forms masses of dry, brown, dormant and apparently dead culms in dry stream beds. It is easily pulled up to expose its cespitose habit. The virtually flat tubercles are particularly distinctive.

Cosmopolitan. Approximately 200 species; 16 species treated in Flora.

When collecting Eleocharis, get the underground parts and a lot of extra spikes! Identification usually requires ripping up spikes to view the rachilla and the flower, or lack thereof, just above the lower two floral scales. Most of these plants produce mature fruits in late summer or fall; they may not be identifiable if collected early in the season. For the purposes of this key, achene length is a measurement of the achene only, without the tubercle (persistent style base). Culms that are smooth when fresh may become ridged when dry. Culms of pressed specimens become flattened even if the culms were quadrangular in life, so determining the original shape requires rehydrating a section of culm. Culm widths are for culms pressed flat. Widths of floral scales are for flattened scales and can be determined by measuring the distance from midrib to one margin and doubling that. The proximal scale is the lowest in the spike; the subproximal scale is the second lowest. Reports of E. coloradoensis in Oregon remain unsubstantiated. If found, this species would key to either E. quinqueflora or E. suksdorfiana, however, unlike these species, the achenes of E. coloradoensis are less than 1.3 mm long.