Eriocaulaceae
Encyclopedia
The Eriocaulaceae or pipewort family is a family
of monocotyledon
ous flowering plant
s in the order Poales
. The family is large, with about 1,150-1,200 species described in ten genera. The family is widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical regions, particularly the Americas
. Very few species extend to temperate
regions, with e.g. only 16 species in the United States
, mostly in the southern states from California
to Florida
, only two species in Canada
, and only one species (Eriocaulon aquaticum) in Europe
. They tend to be associated with wet soils, many growing in shallow water. This is also repoted from Southern part of India and the regions of Western Ghats Hot spots.
The species are mostly herbaceous
perennial plant
s, though some are annual plant
s; they resemble plants in the related families Cyperaceae
(sedges) and Juncaceae
(rushes), and like them, have rather small, wind-pollinated flower
s grouped together in capitulum
-like inflorescence
s.
Genera
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of monocotyledon
Monocotyledon
Monocotyledons, also known as monocots, are one of two major groups of flowering plants that are traditionally recognized, the other being dicotyledons, or dicots. Monocot seedlings typically have one cotyledon , in contrast to the two cotyledons typical of dicots...
ous flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the order Poales
Poales
Poales is a large order of flowering plants in the monocotyledons, and includes families of plants such as the grasses, bromeliads, and sedges. Sixteen plant families are currently recognized by botanists to be part of Poales....
. The family is large, with about 1,150-1,200 species described in ten genera. The family is widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical regions, particularly the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. Very few species extend to temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
regions, with e.g. only 16 species in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, mostly in the southern states from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, only two species in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and only one species (Eriocaulon aquaticum) in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. They tend to be associated with wet soils, many growing in shallow water. This is also repoted from Southern part of India and the regions of Western Ghats Hot spots.
The species are mostly herbaceous
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
s, though some are annual plant
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
s; they resemble plants in the related families Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
(sedges) and Juncaceae
Juncaceae
Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...
(rushes), and like them, have rather small, wind-pollinated flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s grouped together in capitulum
Capitulum
The term Capitulum can refer to several things:*In botany, a type of flower head where the bracts are located under the basis, such as a daisy's*Also in botany, the top of a Sphagnum moss plant with compact clusters of young branches....
-like 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.
Genera
- Blastocaulon
- EriocaulonEriocaulonEriocaulon is a genus of about 400 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Eriocaulaceae. The genus is widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical regions, particularly southern Asia and the Americas. A few species extend to temperate...
- pipewort - Lachnocaulon - bogbutton
- Leiothrix
- Mesanthemum
- PaepalanthusPaepalanthusPaepalanthus bromelioides is a species in the flowering plant family Eriocaulaceae. This family is placed in the Poales, close to the Bromeliaceae, whose morphology this genus shares. Paepalanthus bromelioides is native to Cerrado, the area in which the carnivorous bromeliad Brocchinia reducta...
- Philodice
- Rondonanthus
- SyngonanthusSyngonanthusSyngonanthus is a genus of plant in family Eriocaulaceae. It contains the following species :* Syngonanthus yacuambensis, Moldenke* Syngonanthus chrysanthus* Syngonanthus nitens...
- Tonina