Eleocharis geniculata |
Eleocharis sect. Eleogenus |
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bent spike-rush, Canada spikesedge, capitate spike-rush |
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Habit | Plants tufted, without creeping rhizomes. | Plants annual or perennial, never stoloniferous, sometimes with creeping rhizomes 0.5–1 mm thick, tubers absent. |
Culms | to 45 cm × 0.2–1 mm. |
terete, to 90 cm × 2 mm. |
Leaves | distal leaf sheaths persistent, firm, distally tightly sheathing, apex acute. |
distal leaf sheaths usually persistent, thinly membranous to papery. |
Spikelets | orbicular to ovoid, 1–9 × 1–4 mm, apex rounded to acute; proximal scale without flower, not amplexicaulous; floral scales to 125, 11–14 per mm of rachilla, tightly appressed, dark red-brown to stramineous, ovate to elliptic, 0.8–3 × 0.6–2(–2.3) mm, membranous to cartilaginous, apex rounded to acute. |
terete, to 13 × 4 mm. |
Flowers | perianth bristles (0–)4–8, typically 7, red-brown, rarely whitish, vestigial to much exceeding tubercle, typically equaling achene, spinules few to dense; styles 2-fid. |
styles 2-fid or with to ca. 1/2 3-fid. |
Achenes | brown ripening to black, biconvex, orbicular to obpyriform, 0.5–1.1 × 0.3–0.7 mm, apex rarely constricted proximal to tubercle, very finely reticulate at 40X. |
biconvex or rarely to ca. 1/2 trigonous; angles keeled (costate), at least distally. |
Tubercles | stramineous to whitish, umbonate to subconic, 0.2–0.4 × 0.2–0.5 mm, apex rounded to acute. |
distinct from achene apex in color, texture, and form. |
2n | = 10. |
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Eleocharis geniculata |
Eleocharis sect. Eleogenus |
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Phenology | Fruiting spring–winter (Mar–Dec). | |
Habitat | Brackish creeks, canal banks, dune depressions, hammocks, irrigation ditches, lakeshores, lagoons, mangrove thickets, maritime mud flats, ditches, salt marshes | |
Elevation | 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) | |
Distribution |
AL; AZ; CA; FL; GA; IL; IN; LA; MI; MS; NE; NM; NV; OH; OK; PA; TX; ON; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Bermuda; Asia; Africa; Pacific Islands
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Worldwide; primarily New World temperate regions |
Discussion | The name Eleocharis caribaea (Rottbøll) S. F. Blake is considered by most contemporary authorities to be misapplied (K. L. Wilson 1990). Eleocharis geniculata has been reported from South Carolina; I have not seen a voucher. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Species 18 (9 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 101. | FNA vol. 23. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Eleocharis > sect. Eleogenus > ser. Maculosae | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | Scirpus geniculatus, E. capitata, E. caribaea, E. dispar | |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Roemer & Schultes: in J. J. Roemer et al., Syst. Veg. 2: 150. (1817) | (Nees) Bentham: in G. Bentham and J. D. Hooker, Gen. Pl. 3: 1047. (1883) |
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