Eleocharis pachycarpa
Encyclopedia
Eleocharis pachycarpa is a species of spikesedge
known by the common name black sand spikerush. This plant is native to Chile
but it grows in other parts of the world as an introduced species
, such as Australia and the US states of California and Nevada. It is a resident of moist areas, such as riverbanks, vernal pool
s, salt marsh
es, and wet meadows. This is a rhizomatous
perennial generally not exceeding 40 centimeters in height. It forms clumps of very thin stringlike stems of smooth bright green which are four-sided or cylindrical. The stems are somewhat erect but they bend easily to become stolon
s; if the tip touches the substrate it may root there and produce a new plant. The spikelet
is a flat oval shape up to a centimeter long and holds ten or more flowers, each covered in a dark purple-brown or black bract
. The fruit is a tiny light-colored achene
about 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 black sand spikerush. This plant is native to 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...
but it grows in other parts of the world as 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...
, such as Australia and the US states of California and Nevada. It is a resident of moist areas, such as riverbanks, 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, salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es, and wet meadows. 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 generally not exceeding 40 centimeters in height. It forms clumps of very thin stringlike stems of smooth bright green which are four-sided or cylindrical. The stems are somewhat erect but they bend easily to become stolon
Stolon
In biology, stolons are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.-In botany:...
s; if the tip touches the substrate it may root there and produce a new plant. 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 a flat oval shape up to a centimeter long and holds ten or more flowers, each covered in a dark purple-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 tiny light-colored achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
about a millimeter long.