Burke: Eleocharis atropurpurea vs. Eleocharis palustris

	Eleocharis atropurpurea	Eleocharis palustris
		common spikerush
Habit		Herbaceous, rhizomatous perennial, the culms scattered or in clumps along the rhizome, slender to stout, 1-10 dm. tall.
Leaves		Leaf sheaths red or black at base, green or red towards tip, not inflated or callose, membranous to papery, tips broadly obtuse to acute, tooth lacking.
Flowers		Spikelet terminal and solitary, 5-23 mm. long, lanceolate in outline, brown or chestnut-colored; scales of the spikelet spirally arranged 2-4.5 mm. long, with 1 or 2 empty scales at the base of the spikelet, the lower one encircling the culm; perianth bristles usually 4, retrorsely barbed; stamens 2; styles bifid, thickened at the base.
Fruits		Achenes lenticular, yellow to brown, 1.5-2.5 mm. long, including a tubercle 0.4-0.7 mm. long.

	Eleocharis atropurpurea	Eleocharis palustris
Flowering time		May-August
Habitat		Wet places from sea level to moderate elevations in the mountains; tolerant of alkali.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Presumed extirpated in Washington (WANHP)	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	E. acicularis, E. bella, E. bolanderi, E. coloradoensis, E. engelmannii, E. erythropoda, E. geniculata, E. macrostachya, E. mamillata, E. obtusa, E. ovata, E. palustris, E. parvula, E. quinqueflora, E. rostellata, E. suksdorfiana, E. uniglumis	E. acicularis, E. bella, E. bolanderi, E. coloradoensis, E. engelmannii, E. erythropoda, E. geniculata, E. macrostachya, E. mamillata, E. obtusa, E. ovata, E. parvula, E. quinqueflora, E. rostellata, E. suksdorfiana, E. uniglumis
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA 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: BC, 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 atropurpurea

Eleocharis palustris

common spikerush

Habit

Herbaceous, rhizomatous perennial, the culms scattered or in clumps along the rhizome, slender to stout, 1-10 dm. tall.

Leaves

Leaf sheaths red or black at base, green or red towards tip, not inflated or callose, membranous to papery, tips broadly obtuse to acute, tooth lacking.

Flowers

Spikelet terminal and solitary, 5-23 mm. long, lanceolate in outline, brown or chestnut-colored;

scales of the spikelet spirally arranged 2-4.5 mm. long, with 1 or 2 empty scales at the base of the spikelet, the lower one encircling the culm;

perianth bristles usually 4, retrorsely barbed;

stamens 2;

styles bifid, thickened at the base.

Fruits

Achenes lenticular, yellow to brown, 1.5-2.5 mm. long, including a tubercle 0.4-0.7 mm. long.