Eleocharis cellulosa |
Eleocharis cancellata |
|
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Gulf Coast spikerush, Gulfcoast spikesedge |
Arizona spikerush |
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Habit | Plants perennial; rhizomes 1–4 mm thick, soft to hard, longer internodes 3–7.5 cm, scales 5 mm, tubers absent. | Plants annual(?), densely cespitose; rhizomes obscured among culm bases, delicate, internodes very short, scales not evident. |
Culms | terete or obtusely trigonous, 30–80 cm × 1–5 mm, soft to hard, not septate-nodulose, internally spongy, transverse septa incomplete; plants never forming filiform, flaccid culms. |
mostly ascending, terete or 4-angled, 2 cm × 0.2–0.3 mm, soft. |
Leaves | distal leaf sheaths persistent, membranous, apex acute to acuminate, often prolonged into a slender awn to 4 mm. |
distal leaf sheaths persistent, greenish to whitish, translucent, membranous, apex blunt. |
Spikelets | not proliferous, 14–54 × 3–5.6 mm; rachilla joints without winglike remnants of floral scales; proximal scale empty, amplexicaulous, 2.5–4.9 mm; floral scales 40–180, 2–3 per mm of rachilla, stramineous to pale brown, flanks sometimes minutely dotted reddish, usually with pale to dark brown, reddish, or purplish submarginal band, obovate to suborbicular, widest in middle, 3.4–4.5(–6) × 3–4.8 mm, cartilaginous, membranous toward margins, margins broadly translucent, membranous, apex rounded. |
ovoid, 2–3 × 1 mm, apex acute; floral scales 7–10, 5 per mm of rachilla, bright brown or colorless, medially greenish, ovate to lanceolate, not folded lengthwise, 0.8–1.2(–1.5) × 0.6–0.8 mm, midrib obscure to slightly keeled, apex acute to acuminate. |
Flowers | perianth bristles 6–7, medium brown to pale brown or reddish, slender, proximally slightly flattened, subequal to unequal, mostly exceeding achene, 2–3.4 mm, smooth or sometimes finely retrorsely spinulose; anthers reddish brown, 1.7–2.5 mm; styles 3-fid. |
perianth bristles absent; anthers orange-brown, 0.2–0.3 mm. |
Achenes | brown, biconvex, obpyriform, 2.2–2.8 × 1.3–1.9 mm, markedly sculptured at 10–15X, each face with (17–)20–24 rows of isodiametric to slightly transversely elongated cells, apex narrowed to a stout, often pale, spongy region 0.8–1.1 mm wide at base, 1/2–3/4 of achene width. |
brownish, broadly ovoid to obpyriform, much less than 2 times longer than wide, with angles plus longitudinal ridges ca. 6, rather obscure, 0.5–0.55 × 0.35 mm, apex blunt, trabeculae 15–20, distinct. |
Tubercles | dark brown, lamelliform to pyramidal, 0.1–0.5 × 0.2–0.5 mm. |
grayish or brownish, often appressed, mostly pyramidal, 0.1 × 0.1 mm. |
Eleocharis cellulosa |
Eleocharis cancellata |
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Phenology | Fruiting late spring–winter. | Fruiting fall (Sep). |
Habitat | Brackish to saline marshes, shores, ditches, mostly coastal, often abundant or dominant | Wet springy places |
Elevation | 0 (Florida)–600 (Arkansas, Texas) m (0 (Florida)–2000 (Arkansas, Texas) ft) | 1700 m (5600 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC; TX; Mexico; West Indies; Central America (Nicaragua)
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TX; Mexico (San Luis Potosí) |
Discussion | Of conservation concern. Eleocharis cancellata is very similar to E. bella. The achenes of E. cancellata are relatively broader in relation to their length, the angles and ridges obscure and fewer, and the trabeculae very distinct and faintly wavy at 35X. R. McVaugh and W. R. Anderson (1974+, vol. 13) mentioned possible intermediates with E. acicularis from Mexico. Eleocharis cancellata has been reported from the flora area from three collections: (1) Texas, Jeff Davis County, A. Brant et al. 2237, 1993, originally identified as E. bella; (2) southwestern Texas or northern Mexico (probably from near San Antonio), Parry & Palmer 912, 1879–1880; and (3) Arizona, Santa Cruz County(?), C. Wright 1937, collected in 1851. Although it was also reported from New Mexico (H. K. Svenson 1929), E. cancellata probably does not occur there (R. McVaugh and W. R. Anderson 1974+, vol. 13). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 118. | FNA vol. 23, p. 111. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Limnochloa | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Scirpidium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 3: 298. (1836) | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 18: 170. (1883) |
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