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Engelman spikerush

dwarf spike-rush

Habit Tufted annual, 0.5-5 dm. tall, the culms 0.5-2 mm. thick, with many ribs.
Leaves

Leaves all basal and reduced to sheaths.

Flowers

Spikelet terminal and solitary, 5-13 mm. long, ovoid, many-flowered, usually over 40;

scales spirally arranged, 1.7-2.5 mm. long, purplish or brownish, with greenish mid-strip and paler, translucent margins, the lowest one sometimes empty;

perianth bristles 6-7, brownish, about equal to the achene, or wanting;

stamens 3;

style usually bifid, thickened at the base.

Fruits

Achenes lenticular, 1.0-1.5 mm. long, including the flattened tubercle, which is appressed to the summit of the brown, smooth and shining body of the achene.

Eleocharis engelmannii

Eleocharis coloradoensis

Flowering time June-September July-September
Habitat Marshes and other wet places, from sea level to moderate elevations in the mountains. Sandy shores, deltas, and seeps.
Distribution
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring east of the Cascades crest; southeastern British Columbia to California, east to Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, also in Great Plains and central North America.
Origin Native Native
Conservation status Not of concern Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa
E. acicularis, E. bella, E. bolanderi, E. coloradoensis, 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. 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
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