Eleocharis quinqueflora
Encyclopedia
Eleocharis quinqueflora is a species of spikesedge
known by the common name fewflower spikerush. This plant has a circumboreal
distribution and is also found in the southern half of the United States, as well as Chile
. It is a resident of wet meadows, bog
s, hot spring
s, and other moist places. This is a rhizomatous
perennial approaching a maximum height of 40 centimeters. The thin, flattened stems are surrounded by papery reddish to green leaf sheaths and topped with dark inflorescence
s. The spikelet
is lance-shaped to oval and less than a centimeter long. It contains two to seven flowers, each of which is covered with a brown or black bract
. The fruit is a yellow-brown achene
two or three millimeters 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 fewflower spikerush. This plant 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 is also found in the southern half of the United States, as well as Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. It is a resident of wet meadows, 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....
s, hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s, and other moist places. This is a rhizomatous
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...
perennial approaching a maximum height of 40 centimeters. The thin, flattened stems are surrounded by papery reddish to green leaf sheaths and topped with dark 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...
s. The 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...
is lance-shaped to oval and less than a centimeter long. It contains two to seven flowers, each of which is covered with a brown or black 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...
. The fruit is a yellow-brown achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
two or three millimeters long.