Eleocharis flavescens

Plants with creeping rhizomes 0.5–1 mm thick. Culms 3–42 cm × 0.3–0.6 mm. Leaves: distal leaf sheaths often disintegrating, thinly membranous-translucent, inflated distally, often wrinkled, apex blunt. Spikelets ellipsoid, 1.5–9 × 1–3.5 mm, apex acute to acuminate; proximal scale without flower, not amplexicaulous; floral scales to 65, 5–7 per mm of rachilla, loosely appressed to appressed, elliptic, 1–3 × 0.4–1.6 mm, membranous, apex acute. Flowers: perianth bristles (0–)5–8, typically 7, white to stramineous, spinules dense to few; styles 2-fid, rarely 3-fid. Achenes stramineous to green or dark brown, biconvex, rarely trigonous, obovoid to obpryiform, 0.4–1.1 × 0.3–0.8 mm, very finely reticulate at 40X. Tubercles whitish to stramineous or green, 0.2–0.7 × 0.2–0.4 mm, apex acute to acuminate.

Distribution

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N.B., N.S., Ont., Que., Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Ind., La., Maine, Mass., Md., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mont., N.C., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Pa., R.I., S.C., Tex., Utah, Va., Vt., Wis., Wyo., temperate North America, West Indies, South America.

Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

The varieties of Eleocharis flavescens are difficult to delimit, especially in the south, and identifications of some specimens to variety are problematic.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Eleocharis flavescens var. flavescens, Eleocharis flavescens var. olivacea

Key

1	Achenes red-brown to dark brown when ripe, 0.4–0.8(–1.1) × 0.3–0.6 mm, apex rarely highly constricted proximal to tubercle; flowers with perianth bristles typically shorter than to as long as achene.	Eleocharis flavescens var. flavescens
1	Achenes green to golden-brown, 0.5–1.1 × 0.4–0.8 mm, often highly constricted proximal to tubercle; flowers with perianth bristles typically longer than achene.	Eleocharis flavescens var. olivacea