Eleocharis atropurpurea |
Eleocharis bernardina |
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purple spike-rush |
fewflower spikerush |
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Habit | Plants tufted, without creeping rhizomes. | Plants perennial; rhizomes 0.5–1 mm thick, scales persistent, 5–8 mm, membranous, not fibrous; resting buds absent (non-resting buds on rhizome apex ellipsoid, 10 × 2–5 mm); caudices present, hard, 1–2 mm thick. |
Culms | 2–12(–19) cm × 0.2–0.4 mm. |
markedly arched, not spirally twisted, not contracted near spikelet, when dry usually with several blunt to acute ridges and sulcate, subterete to slightly compressed, to 2 times as wide as thick, 5–15 cm × 0.5–1 mm, firm to hard; culm tufts not proximally bulbous. |
Leaves | distal leaf sheaths firm, distally tightly sheathing, apex acute. |
distal leaf sheaths brown to reddish proximally, stramineous to reddish distally, apex sometimes reddish, membranous to papery. |
Spikelets | ovoid to ellipsoid, 2–6(–8) × 1–2.5 mm, apex acute; proximal scale with or without flower, not amplexicaulous; floral scales to 100, 15–19 per mm of rachilla, often loosely appressed, dark red-brown to stramineous, ovate to elliptic, 0.6–1.3 × 0.3–0.7 mm, membranous, apex rounded to acute. |
3–6 × 2–4 mm; proximal scale empty, 2.5–4 mm, 1/2 or more as long as spikelet; floral scales 4–9 per spikelet, 3.5–5 × 2 mm. |
Flowers | perianth bristles (0–)4–6, typically 4, colorless to whitish, vestigial to 1/2 as long as achene, smooth or spinuliferous; styles 2-fid. |
perianth bristles 4–7, very unequal, some shorter than 1/2 of achene, stout and smooth, others equaling or exceeding tubercle, very slender and densely spinulose; anthers 1–1.5 mm. |
Achenes | black, obovoid, biconvex, 0.3–0.5 × 0.3–0.4 mm, apex often constricted proximal to tubercle, smooth at 40X. |
medium brown, equilaterally trigonous to compressed trigonous or some biconvex, 1.5–2.1 × 0.9–1.2 mm, beak 0.2–0.3 × 0.3–0.4 mm. |
Tubercles | stramineous to whitish, umbonate to subconic, 0.1–0.2 × 0.1–0.2 mm, apex acute. |
0.25–0.5 × 0.15–0.2 mm. |
2n | = 20. |
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Eleocharis atropurpurea |
Eleocharis bernardina |
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Phenology | Fruiting summer–fall (Jun–Sep). | Fruiting summer. |
Habitat | Canal banks, hammocks, irrigation ditches, lake and pond margins, maritime shores, rice fields | Wet meadows in conifer forests |
Elevation | 0–1800 m (0–5900 ft) | 2100–2700 m (6900–8900 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; CA; FL; GA; IA; KS; LA; MI; MO; NC; NE; NM; OK; SC; TX; WA; BC; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Europe (naturalized); Asia; Africa; Pacific Islands
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CA |
Discussion | Eleocharis atropurpurea has been reported from Colorado, Montana, and Virginia; I have not seen voucher specimens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Although usually included in Eleocharis quinqueflora, E. bernardina is clearly more like E. suksdorfiana. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 102. | FNA vol. 23. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Eleocharis > sect. Eleogenus > ser. Maculosae | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Zinserlingia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Scirpus atropurpureus | Scirpus bernardinus, E. pauciflora var. bernardina, E. quinqueflora var. bernardina |
Name authority | (Retzius) J. Presl & C. Presl: in C. B. Presl, Reliq. Haenk. 1: 196. (1828) | (Munz & I. M. Johnston) Munz: Man. S. Calif. Bot., 68, 597. (1935) |
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