Burke: Eleocharis palustris vs. Eleocharis rostellata

	Eleocharis palustris	Eleocharis rostellata
	common spikerush	walking sedge, beaked 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 palustris	Eleocharis rostellata
Flowering time	May-August	June-August
Habitat	Wet places from sea level to moderate elevations in the mountains; tolerant of alkali.	Shores, wet meadows, seeps, hot springs, fens, often where alkaline.
Distribution	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]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and eastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)
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. 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. palustris, E. parvula, E. quinqueflora, E. suksdorfiana, E. uniglumis
Web links	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	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 palustris

Eleocharis rostellata

common spikerush

walking sedge, beaked 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 palustris

Eleocharis rostellata

Flowering time

May-August

June-August

Habitat

Wet places from sea level to moderate elevations in the mountains; tolerant of alkali.

Shores, wet meadows, seeps, hot springs, fens, often where alkaline.

Distribution

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]

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and eastern North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)

Sibling taxa