The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Parish spikerush, Parish's spike rush

Habit Plants perennial, mat-forming; rhizomes evident, long, 0.5–1(–2) mm thick, firm, cortex persistent, longer internodes 5–30 mm, scales often fugaceous, 5–10 mm, membranous, not fibrous.
Culms

terete or cross section elliptic (or rectangular), usually with to 8 blunt ridges when dry, 10–50 cm × 0.2–0.7(–1) mm, soft to firm, spongy.

Leaves

distal leaf sheaths persistent, not splitting, mostly proximally dark red, distally red to brown or green, thinly papery to thickly membranous, apex usually redbrown, subtruncate to obtuse or subacute, callose, tooth often present on most or all culms, to 1 mm.

Spikelets

narrowly lanceoloid (to narrowly cylindric), 3–20 × 1.5–2.5 mm, apex acute;

proximal scale amplexicaulous, entire;

subproximal scale empty or with flower;

floral scales appressed or spreading in fruit, 15–40, 3–4 per mm of rachilla, orange brown, midrib regions often greenish, ovate, 2–3 × 1 mm, apex entire, rounded to obtuse in proximal part of spikelet, acute in distal part, carinate, at least in distal part of spikelet.

Flowers

perianth bristles 3–7, rarely apparently absent, stramineous to whitish, slender to stout, often unequal, rudimentary to slightly exceeding tubercle;

stamens 3;

anthers yellow to stramineous, 1.1–2 mm;

styles 3-fid, 0.3–0.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm.

Achenes

falling with scales, yellow-brown or dark brown, ellipsoid or obovoid to obpyriform, compressed-trigonous, angles evident to obscure, rarely prominent, 0.8–1.4 × 0.5–0.7 mm, neck absent to long, smooth or sometimes minutely cancellate at 20–30X.

Tubercles

whitish, pyramidal, often higher than wide, 0.3–0.4 × 0.25–0.35 mm.

2n

= 10.

Eleocharis parishii

Phenology Fruiting spring–fall.
Habitat Fresh to brackish, wet soil or emergent, often drying lakeshores, ponds, streams, springs
Elevation 500–2300 m (1600–7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; KS; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eleocharis parishii is very similar to E. montevidensis, with which it sometimes grows. It differs from E. montevidensis mainly in its narrowly lanceoloid to cylindric spikelets and its floral scale apices not recurved or horizontally wrinkled. Some apparent intermediates occur in regions of sympatry. The floral scales of E. montevidensis are more densely placed on the rachilla.

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

Source FNA vol. 23, p. 80.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Eleocharis > sect. Eleocharis > ser. Eleocharis
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. ovata, E. pachycarpa, E. palustris, 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. disciformis, E. montevidensis var. disciformis, E. montevidensis var. parishii
Name authority Britton: J. New York Microscop. Soc. 5: 110. (1889)
Web links