Eleocharis acicularis
Encyclopedia
Eleocharis acicularis is a species of spikesedge
known by the common names needle spikerush and dwarf hairgrass. It has a circumboreal
distribution and it can also be found throughout the rest of the Americas. It is also found in Australia, where it is probably an introduced species
. This is an annual or perennial spikesedge with long, grasslike stems to about 15 centimeters in height, shorter in bog
conditions, from a creeping rhizome
. In shallow water it will form short spikes of tiny flowers amongst flat overlapping bract
s. The tiny flowers are less than five millimeters in diameter and are borne at the tip of each stem in single, sharply pointed, lanceoloid spikelets
up to about six millimeters long. This is a plant of marshes, vernal pool
s, and bogs, and it is also used as an aquarium
plant. It thrives with plenty of light and a high concentration of carbon dioxide
.
Eleocharis
Eleocharis is a genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. They are known commonly as spikerushes, although spikesedges is a more technically appropriate name and most scientists who study them in earnest refer to them as such...
known by the common names needle spikerush and dwarf hairgrass. It has a circumboreal
Circumboreal Region
The Circumboreal Region is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America, as delineated by such geobotanists as Josias Braun-Blanquet and Armen Takhtajan....
distribution and it can also be found throughout the rest of the Americas. It is also found in Australia, where it is probably an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. This is an annual or perennial spikesedge with long, grasslike stems to about 15 centimeters in height, shorter in bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
conditions, from a creeping rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
. In shallow water it will form short spikes of tiny flowers amongst flat overlapping bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s. The tiny flowers are less than five millimeters in diameter and are borne at the tip of each stem in single, sharply pointed, lanceoloid spikelets
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
up to about six millimeters long. This is a plant of marshes, vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
s, and bogs, and it is also used as an aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
plant. It thrives with plenty of light and a high concentration of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
.