Eleocharis quinqueflora (Hartmann) O.Schwarz

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. 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). 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. 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. 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. 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. Tubercles rarely absent, 0.3–0.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm.

It is a temperate plant. In Argentina it grows between 2,200-4,000 m above sea level.

The tubers are eaten.