Eleocharis quinqueflora |
Eleocharis tricostata |
|
---|---|---|
few-flower spike-rush, few-flower spikesedge, éléocharide à cinq fleurs |
three-angle spikerush, three-angle spikesedge |
|
Habit | Plants perennial; rhizomes 0.2–1 mm thick, scales persistent or fugaceous, 2–4(–7) mm, thinly membranous, not fibrous; resting buds often present on rhizomes or among culm bases, broadly to narrowly ovoid, 3–6(–10) × 2–5 mm; caudices absent, rarely present, soft or rarely hard, 0.5 mm thick. | Plants perennial, mat-forming; rhizomes evident, fairly long, 1.5–3 mm thick, hard, cortex persistent, longer internodes 1.5–3 mm, scales disintegrating to fibers, 4–5 mm, papery. |
Culms | erect, not spirally twisted, not contracted near spikelet, when dry usually with several blunt to acute ridges and sulcate, subterete to slightly compressed, to 2 times wider than thick, 5–35 cm × 0.2–0.5(–1.2) mm, soft to hard; culm tufts often proximally bulbous (if bulbous then tunicated by papery-fibrous scales). |
terete, often with 8–12 blunt ridges when dry, 20–55 cm × 0.3–1.3 mm, soft to hard. |
Leaves | distal leaf sheaths stramineous to brown or reddish proximally, green to stramineous or brown distally, membranous to papery, apex often reddish, subtruncate to acute. |
distal leaf sheaths persistent, rarely splitting, proximally red to stramineous, distally green to reddish, papery, apex often dark reddish, subtruncate to obtuse, not callose, tooth present on some or all culms of plant, to 0.5 mm. |
Spikelets | 3–8 × 1.5–4 mm; proximal scale with a flower, seldom empty, 2–5 mm, 1/2 or more as long as spikelet; floral scales 3–10 per spikelet, 2.5–6 × 1.5–2.5 mm. |
cylindric to ovoid, 5–20 × 2–3 mm, apex rounded to subacute; proximal scale amplexicaulous, apex entire; subproximal scale empty; floral scales appressed in fruit, 20–200+, 10 per mm of rachilla, dark brown, midrib regions often stramineous or greenish, oblong, 1.7–2.5 × 1 mm, apex entire, broadly rounded, usually recurved, mostly carinate. |
Flowers | perianth bristles (0–)3–6, often unequal, rudimentary to equaling tubercle, stout to slender, spinules dense to apparently absent; anthers 1.5–2.7(–3.5) mm. |
perianth bristles absent; stamens 3; anthers dark yellow, 1–1.5 mm; styles 3-fid. |
Achenes | stramineous to medium brown or gray-brown, equilaterally trigonous to compressed-trigonous, rarely some biconvex, obpyriform (to obovoid), 1.6–2.3 × 0.7–1.3 mm, beak variable. |
falling with scales, medium to dark brown, obovoid to obpyriform, with short neck, thickly trigonous, angles prominent (keeled), 0.7–0.9 × 0.4–0.6 mm, obscurely to clearly rugulose at 10–20X with more than 20 horizontal ridges in vertical series and/or minutely cancellate at 20–30X. |
Tubercles | rarely absent, 0.3–0.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm. |
brown, rudimentary, mostly apiculate, sometimes pyramidal, 0.05–0.15 × 0.15–0.2 mm. |
Eleocharis quinqueflora |
Eleocharis tricostata |
|
Phenology | Fruiting (spring–)summer. | Fruiting late spring–summer. |
Habitat | Fens, wet meadows, seeps, springs, hot springs | Wet sandy or peaty depressions, pond margins, pine barrens, savannas, mostly coastal plains |
Elevation | 0–3600 m (0–11800 ft) | 10–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
|
AL; FL; GA; MA; MI; NC; NJ; NY; SC; VA
|
Discussion | The chromosome numbers for Eleocharis quinqueflora reported for North America (2n = 80) are in doubt because vouchers and other information are lacking. The often-cited n = 10 is probably erroneous. S.-O. Strandhede and R. M. T. Dahlgren (1968) gave 2n = 132 and 134 from Scandinavia. Recognition of infraspecific taxa within E. quinqueflora is premature pending a worldwide revision of subg. Zinserlingia. It has been reported from North Dakota, although I have not seen specimens. About five varieties and subspecies of E. quinqueflora have been described worldwide. Most specimens from eastern North America and some from the West can be placed in Eleocharis quinqueflora subsp. fernaldii (Svenson) Hultén, which is characterized by its small size (culms to 15 cm × 0.5 mm) and small bulbs. Specimens of E. quinqueflora from 2000–3600 m in California, which are atypical, especially in that the proximal scales of the spikelets do not subtend flowers, may deserve taxonomic recognition. Those plants are also small, with culms only to 15 cm × 0.5 mm; hard caudices are often present at the culm-tuft bases; small, narrowly ovoid bulbs are sometimes present; and perianth bristles are absent or rudimentary. Very few specimens of E. quinqueflora are intermediate with E. suksdorfiana. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
I have not seen specimens to verify reports of Eleocharis tricostata from Louisiana. In the absence of rhizomes and achenes, E. tricostata is easily mistaken for E. montevidensis. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 114. | FNA vol. 23, p. 88. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Zinserlingia | Cyperaceae > Eleocharis > subg. Eleocharis > sect. Eleocharis > ser. Eleocharis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Scirpus quinqueflorus, E. fernaldii, E. pauciflora, E. pauciflora var. fernaldii, E. quinqueflora subsp. fernaldii | |
Name authority | (Hartmann) O. Schwarz: Mitt. Thüring. Bot. Ges. 1: 89. (1949) | Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York. 3: 310. (1836) |
Web links |
|