Eleocharis atropurpurea
Encyclopedia
Eleocharis atropurpurea is a species of spikesedge
known by the common name purple spikerush. This is an aquatic plant
native to much of the tropical world. It also has a wide distribution in temperate regions of North and South America and Asia. It is present in Europe, where it may be an introduced species
for the most part. This plant can be found in wet areas from ocean shores to rice fields
and irrigation ditches to inland lakes and rivers. This is an annual sedge rarely exceeding ten centimeters in height. It grows in tufts with few reddish-green leaves and many thin erect stems. Atop each stem is an oval-shaped, pointed inflorescence
consisting of a spikelet
under a centimeter long and containing at least ten flowers. Each tiny flower is covered by a bract
which is a purplish-brown color. The fruit is a minute shiny black achene
less than a millimeter long.
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 name purple spikerush. This is an aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
native to much of the tropical world. It also has a wide distribution in temperate regions of North and South America and Asia. It is present in Europe, where it may be 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...
for the most part. This plant can be found in wet areas from ocean shores to rice fields
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...
and irrigation ditches to inland lakes and rivers. This is an annual sedge rarely exceeding ten centimeters in height. It grows in tufts with few reddish-green leaves and many thin erect stems. Atop each stem is an oval-shaped, pointed inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
consisting of a spikelet
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...
under a centimeter long and containing at least ten flowers. Each tiny flower is covered by a 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...
which is a purplish-brown color. The fruit is a minute shiny black achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
less than a millimeter long.