Flora of North America species comparison

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Eleocharis bella

Eleocharis minima

beautiful spikerush, delicate spikerush, pretty spikerush

small spikerush
Habit Plants annual, rarely perennial, usually densely tufted; rhizomes rarely evident, 0.2–0.3 mm thick, internodes 1–5 mm, scales not evident. Plants annual, tufted, often mat-forming, often stoloniferous, sometimes entirely vegetative; rhizomes absent.
Culms

often ascending or spreading, 4-angled or sometimes terete, sometimes sulcate, 1–7 cm × 0.2–0.3 mm, soft to firm.

erect, ascending or arching, quadrangular, sulcate, 1–13 cm × 0.1–0.3 mm, soft.
Leaves

sheaths stramineous, distal sheaths often splitting abaxially, slightly inflated distally, oblique, apex acute.

distal leaf sheaths persistent or disintegrating, red-brown, stramineous, green, or mottled red-brown, translucent, apex narrowly acute.
Spikelets

ovoid, 1.5–4 × 0.8–2 mm, apex acute;

floral scales 4–15, 8 per mm of rachilla, colorless or reddish brown, midrib region green, ovate-lanceolate, not folded lengthwise, 1–1.5 × 0.5–0.7 mm, mibrib obscure to somewhat keeled, apex narrowly acute to acuminate, slightly recurved.

basal spikelets often present, bisexual; often proliferous, ovoid or ellipsoid, laterally compressed when young, but terete at maturity, 2–7 × 1–2.6 mm, acute;

proximal scale empty, often persistent, amplexicaulous, similar to floral scales;

subproximal scale with a flower;

floral scales spirodistichous (superficially appearing ± spiraled), (4–)10–28, 6–9 per mm of rachilla, pale brown, mottled red-brown to purple, ovate or elliptic, 1.3–2.1 × 0.7–1 mm, membranous, midribs green and red-brown, prominent, apex rounded to obtuse.
Flowers

perianth bristles absent;

anthers 0.3–0.5 mm.

perianth bristles 6, colorless, white, or stramineous, slightly shorter than to equaling achene, spinules retrorse, acute;

stamens 3;

anthers 0.4–0.5 mm;

styles 3-fid.
Achenes

with angles and longitudinal ridges ca. 6–10, rather prominent, broadly ovoid, less than 2 times longer then wide, (0.55–)0.65–0.75 × 0.3–0.4 mm, apex blunt, trabeculae distinct, 20–30.

greenish or pale brown or red-brown, often clearly spotted greenish or red-brown, ellipsoid to obovoid, trigonous (or terete?), angles prominent (keeled), 0.6–0.8 × 0.4–0.5 mm, apex constricted proximal to tubercle, smooth.
Tubercles

grayish, mostly appressed, pyramidal, often depressed, 0.1–0.2 × 0.1–0.25 mm.

red-brown, pyramidal, trigonous, 0.1–0.3 × 0.2–0.4 mm.

Eleocharis bella

Eleocharis minima
Phenology Fruiting spring–summer. Fruiting mid spring–fall.
Habitat Bare, often drying soil of stream alluvium, lake margins, wet meadows Freshwater, sandy and peaty shores of lakes, muddy areas
Elevation 200–2900 m (700–9500 ft) 0–400 m (0–1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; WA; Mexico (Chihuahua)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; MD; TX; Mexico; South America; West Indies; Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eleocharis bella and E. acicularis seem to be amply distinct; putative hybrids are unknown. The occasional plants of E. bella with evident rhizomes, which include the type, are otherwise identical to plants apparently without rhizomes. Eleocharis bella is very similar to E. cancellata. There is an Illinois collection from Peoria in 1901, from the alluvial banks of the Illinois River.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Eleocharis minima is most often confused with E. bicolor and E. baldwinii (see comments under 33. E. bicolor). Although floral scales in E. minima often superficially appear to be spirally disposed, in reality they are spirodistichous, ± decussate, while in E. baldwinii they are strictly distichous in one plane. The number of floral scales per millimeter is much greater in E. minima than in E. baldwinii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 23, p. 110. FNA vol. 23, p. 97.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Scirpidium Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Eleocharis > sect. Eleocharis > ser. Tenuissimae
Sibling taxa
E. acicularis, E. aestuum, E. albida, E. ambigens, E. atropurpurea, E. baldwinii, E. bernardina, E. bicolor, E. bifida, E. bolanderi, E. brachycarpa, E. brittonii, E. cancellata, E. cellulosa, E. coloradoensis, E. compressa, E. cylindrica, E. decumbens, E. diandra, E. elliptica, E. elongata, E. engelmannii, E. equisetoides, E. erythropoda, E. fallax, E. flavescens, E. geniculata, E. intermedia, E. interstincta, E. kamtschatica, E. lanceolata, E. macrostachya, E. mamillata, E. melanocarpa, E. microcarpa, E. minima, E. montana, E. montevidensis, E. nana, E. nigrescens, E. nitida, E. obtusa, E. obtusetrigona, E. occulta, E. ovata, E. pachycarpa, E. palustris, E. parishii, E. parvula, E. quadrangulata, E. quinqueflora, E. radicans, E. ravenelii, E. retroflexa, E. reverchonii, E. robbinsii, E. rostellata, E. suksdorfiana, E. tenuis, E. torticulmis, E. tortilis, E. tricostata, E. tuberculosa, E. uniglumis, E. vivipara, E. wolfii
E. acicularis, E. aestuum, E. albida, E. ambigens, E. atropurpurea, E. baldwinii, E. bella, E. bernardina, E. bicolor, E. bifida, E. bolanderi, E. brachycarpa, E. brittonii, E. cancellata, E. cellulosa, E. coloradoensis, E. compressa, E. cylindrica, E. decumbens, E. diandra, E. elliptica, E. elongata, E. engelmannii, E. equisetoides, E. erythropoda, E. fallax, E. flavescens, E. geniculata, E. intermedia, E. interstincta, E. kamtschatica, E. lanceolata, E. macrostachya, E. mamillata, E. melanocarpa, E. microcarpa, E. montana, E. montevidensis, E. nana, E. nigrescens, E. nitida, E. obtusa, E. obtusetrigona, E. occulta, E. ovata, E. pachycarpa, E. palustris, E. parishii, E. parvula, E. quadrangulata, E. quinqueflora, E. radicans, E. ravenelii, E. retroflexa, E. reverchonii, E. robbinsii, E. rostellata, E. suksdorfiana, E. tenuis, E. torticulmis, E. tortilis, E. tricostata, E. tuberculosa, E. uniglumis, E. vivipara, E. wolfii
Synonyms E. acicularis var. bella, E. acicularis var. minima Chaetocyperus jamesonii, Chaetocyperus polymorphus, Chaetocyperus viviparus, E. durandii, E. jamesonii, E. minima var. ambigua, E. oropuchensis, E. savannarum, E. subtilis, E. tenuissima, E. villaricensis, E. wrightiana, Isolepis ambigua
Name authority (Piper) Svenson: Rhodora 31: 201. (1929) Kunth: Enum. Pl. 2: 139. (1837)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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