Eleocharis

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Cyperaceae

• Scientific Name

  Eleocharis

• Description

  Genus Description - Spikelet solitary, terminal, ovoid to linear, terete or somewhat flattened, few–many-fld; scales spirally imbricate (rarely distichous), often deciduous at maturity, the lower 1–3 empty in most spp., the others floriferous; fls perfect; stamens 1–3; style 2–3-cleft, its expanded base (tubercle) usually enlarged at maturity and persisting on the lenticular or trigonous achene; bristles typically 6, occasionally more, often reduced in number or size, or lacking; herbs of water or wet soil; stems simple, erect to prostrate, the lvs basal, reduced to bladeless sheaths. 150, cosmop. (Heleocharis) The diffuse centromere may contribute to the frequent infraspecific variation in chromosome number.

• Common Names

  spike-rush