Flora of North America species comparison

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Eleocharis ovata

ovate spike-rush, ovoid spike-rush, ovoid spikesedge, éléocharide ovale
Culms

2–35 cm × 0.3–1 mm.
Leaves

apex of distal leaf sheath obtuse to acute, tooth to 0.2 mm.
Spikelets

ovoid, 2–8 × 2–4 mm, apex acute (to blunt);

floral scales 25–100+, ca. 10 per mm of rachilla, orange-brown, rarely stramineous, ovate, 1.5–2 × 1 mm, midribs often keeled in distal part of spikelet, apex rounded to subacute.
Flowers

perianth bristles present, rarely absent, (5–)6–7, brown, fairly slender, exceeding tubercle;

stamens 2(–3);

anthers brown, 0.3 mm;

styles 2-fid or some 3-fid.
Achenes

0.75–1 × 0.6–0.85 mm.
Tubercles

deltoid, 0.3–0.5 × 0.3–0.5 mm, 3/5 of to as high as wide, 1/3–2/3 as high and 1/2–3/4 as wide as achene.
2n

= 10.

Eleocharis ovata
Phenology Fruiting summer–fall.
Habitat Fresh, often drying shores, lake and stream beds, bogs, tidal estuaries, disturbed places
Elevation 10–700 m (East), 1500–2000 m (Arizona) (0–2300 ft (East), 4900–6600 ft (Arizona))
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CT; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; NB; NL; NS; ON; PE; QC; Eurasia
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Discussion

Although Eleocharis ovata has often been confused with E. obtusa, B. M. H. Larson and P. M. Catling (1996) showed that these species may be distinguished by non-overlapping widths of the tubercles, at least in Canada. The records of E. ovata in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are based on B. M. H. Larson and P. M. Catling (1996) and the records in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington are based on D. M. Hines (1975). Eleocharis ovata probably also occurs in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 23, p. 103.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Eleocharis > sect. Eleogenus > ser. Ovatae
Sibling taxa
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. minima, E. montana, E. montevidensis, E. nana, E. nigrescens, E. nitida, E. obtusa, E. obtusetrigona, E. occulta, 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 Scirpus ovatus, E. obtusa var. ovata, E. ovata var. heuseri
Name authority (Roth) Roemer & Schultes: in J. J. Roemer et al., Syst. Veg. 2: 152. (1817)
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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