Eriocaulon compressum |
Eriocaulon ravenelii |
|
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flattened pipewort |
Ravenel's pipewort |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 20–70 cm. | Herbs, biennial or perennial, 4–20 cm. |
Leaves | linear-attenuate, 5–30 cm, apex subulate. |
linear-attenuate, 3–7(–15) cm, apex subulate, flat. |
Inflorescences | scape sheaths mostly longer than principal leaves, loose; scapes linear, 1–3 mm wide, multiribbed (ribs lacunar); heads chalk white except for dark gray or near black exserted tips of receptacular bracts, anthers, hemispheric to subglobose, 10–20 mm wide, soft, much flattened when pressed; receptacle pilose; involucral bracts frequently squarrose, later obscured by mature bracteoles and flowers, gray, broadly ovate to oblong or elliptic, 2–3 mm, margins entire, apex rounded or obtuse, glabrous; inner bracts, receptacular bracteoles dark gray, spatulate-linear to oblong, 2–3 mm, margins entire, apex acute with white, club-shaped hairs. |
scape sheaths shorter than leaves, loose; scapes filiform, 0.5 mm wide, 4–5(–6)-ribbed; heads gray-brown to dark gray, nearly globose or ovoid, 3–4 mm wide, relatively soft; receptacle glabrous or with sparse, clear hairs; outer involucral bracts usually not reflexed, not obscured by bracteoles and perianth, gray, ovate-oblong or broadly spatulate, 2 mm, margins nearly entire, apex narrowly rounded to acute, surfaces glabrous; inner bracts, receptacular bracts gray, very lustrous, narrowly ovate to oblong or spatulate, 2 mm, margins nearly entire, apex acute to acuminate or lacerate, glabrous. |
Staminate flowers | sepals 2, pale or with dark apex, linear or linear-spatulate, 2–4 mm, apex acute to blunt with mealy white, club-shaped hairs; androphore broadly club-shaped; petals 2, pale, oblong, conspicuously unequal, larger lobe apically fringed with pale, club-shaped hairs, smaller lobe glabrous or with a few hairs at apex; stamens 3–4(–6); anthers black. |
sepals 2, gray, oblong to oblanceolate, 1.5–2 mm, apex usually acute, glabrous; androphore narrowly club-shaped; petals 2, pale, scalelike, minute, glabrous, with inconspicuous glands; stamens 4; anthers black. |
Pistillate flowers | sepals 2, dark at apex, oblong-spatulate, 2.5–3 mm, abaxially with mealy white, club-shaped hairs, adaxially with translucent hairs; petals 2, pale, oblong-spatulate, apex acute, abaxially with mealy white, club-shaped hairs, adaxially with translucent hairs; pistil 2-carpellate. |
sepals 2, gray, narrowly oblong to lance-linear, 1.5–2 mm, apex acute, glabrous; petals 2, yellow-white, narrowly oblanceolate or oblong, 1.5–2 mm, apex acute, glabrous or with a few hairs at apex or adaxially, with inconspicuous glands; pistil 2-carpellate. |
Seeds | dark lustrous brown, broadly ovoid to near round but asymmetric, 0.5 mm, mostly minutely spiny-papillate. |
dark brown, somewhat lustrous, broadly ellipsoid, 0.5 mm, conspicuously irregularly pale-reticulate, alveolae mainly rectangular. |
Eriocaulon compressum |
Eriocaulon ravenelii |
|
Phenology | Flowering late winter–spring. | Flowering late summer–winter. |
Habitat | Sands and peats of shallow pineland ponds, savanna, seeps, ditches, or low flatwoods | Mildly acid sandy pineland swamps, particularly on wet fluctuating shores of shallow ponds toward coasts |
Elevation | 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; DE; FL; GA; LA; MD; MS; NC; NJ; SC; TX
|
FL; SC |
Discussion | Eriocaulon compressum is polymorphic in habit. Male flowers vary considerably in length and degree of connation, and female flowers are often sterile. Of the southeastern coastal plain species this and the similar, but proportionately smaller, E. lineare, are the most aquatic, the former most common around clay-based ponds, the latter around karst ponds. Unlike the more northern E. aquaticum, these two species seldom frequent the shallows of flowing streams. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Eriocaulaceae > Eriocaulon | Eriocaulaceae > Eriocaulon |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. decangulare, E. gnaphalodes, E. cephalotes, Sphaerochloa compressa | |
Name authority | Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 3: 276. (1789) | Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. 503. (1860) |
Web links |