Eleocharis flavescens (Poir.) Urb.

Pale spike rush (en), Éléocharis (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Poales > Cyperaceae > Eleocharis

Characteristics

Tufted perennial from a compact system of slender rhizomes; stems divaricate, 3–15 cm; sheaths tenuous, pale, prolonged into a loose, white, scarious tip; spikelet ovoid or oblong-ovoid, 2–7 mm, with fewer than 20 fls; scales ovate or elliptic, obtuse or subacute, with brown sides, the basal one empty; bristles white or pale green; anthers 0.7–1 mm; style bifid or occasionally some trifid; achene lenticular, 1 mm; tubercle pale, short-conic above a swollen base. Var. flavescens, with the largest scales ca 2 mm, the tubercle a fifth as long as the black or purplish-brown achene, and the bristles usually shorter than the achene, is mainly tropical, extending n. chiefly on the coastal plain to Va. and reputedly N.J. (E. flaccida; E. ochreata) Var. olivacea (Torr.) Gleason, with the largest scales ca 2.5 mm, the tubercle a fourth as long as the olivaceous achene, the bristles usually exceeding the achene, occurs from N.S. to Minn., s. chiefly in the e. states to Fla. (E. olivacea)
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Plants with creeping rhizomes 0.5–1 mm thick. Culms 3–42 cm × 0.3–0.6 mm. Leaves: distal leaf sheaths often disintegrating, thinly membranous-translucent, inflated distally, often wrinkled, apex blunt. Spikelets ellipsoid, 1.5–9 × 1–3.5 mm, apex acute to acuminate; proximal scale without flower, not amplexicaulous; floral scales to 65, 5–7 per mm of rachilla, loosely appressed to appressed, elliptic, 1–3 × 0.4–1.6 mm, membranous, apex acute. Flowers: perianth bristles (0–)5–8, typically 7, white to stramineous, spinules dense to few; styles 2-fid, rarely 3-fid. Achenes stramineous to green or dark brown, biconvex, rarely trigonous, obovoid to obpryiform, 0.4–1.1 × 0.3–0.8 mm, very finely reticulate at 40X. Tubercles whitish to stramineous or green, 0.2–0.7 × 0.2–0.4 mm, apex acute to acuminate.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.03 - 0.23
Root system fibrous-root rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
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Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 7-12

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Eleocharis flavescens leaf picture by Kendra RaiderNature (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Eleocharis flavescens world distribution map, present in Åland Islands, Bermuda, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Spain, Micronesia (Federated States of), Georgia, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, United States of America, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Conservation status

Eleocharis flavescens threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:89663-2
WFO ID wfo-0000404139
COL ID 6F2KP
BDTFX ID 84624
INPN ID 629604
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Eleocharis flavescens Eleocharis polymorpha Scirpus caribaeus Scirpus melanospermus Eleocharis arechavaletae Eleocharis biocreata Eleocharis ochreata Scirpus flavescens Eleogenus ochreatus var. flaccidus Eleogenus ochreatus var. minor Baeothryon flavescens

Lower taxons

Eleocharis flavescens var. flavescens Eleocharis flavescens var. olivacea