The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California

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    AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY
  • Up-to-date information about California vascular plants is available from the Jepson eFlora.

Names are linked to treatments from the Manual


Key to ELEOCHARIS

N.B.: couplets are linked, e.g., 1. is linked to 1'.

  1. Stem 4-sided
 
    2. Stem generally < 1 mm wide, solid; spikelet much wider than stem
 2 E. pachycarpa
    2' Stem 3–5 mm wide, spongy; spikelet ± as wide as stem
 E. quadrangulata
  1' Stem round (sometimes flattened in pressing)
 
    3. Fruit brownish to black, shiny — tubercle hat-like, generally < 1/5 fruit body
 
      4. Leaf tip whitish, membranous
 E. thermalis
      4' Leaf tip green to reddish or becoming straw-colored, not membranous
 
        5. Fruit ± 0.5 mm; tubercle base strongly narrowed
 E. atropurpurea
        5' Fruit ± 0.7–1 mm; tubercle base barely narrowed
 E. geniculata
          3. Fruit whitish to brown, shiny or dull
 
            6. Style generally 2-branched; fruit 2-sided
 
              7. Perennial, rhizomed; tubercle not flat, base narrowed; spikelet 5–25 mm, elongate, tip ± acute
 E. macrostachya
              7' Annual, rhizome 0; tubercle flat, base not narrowed; spikelet 2–16 mm, oblong to ± round, tip ± obtuse
 E. obtusa
                8. Tubercle < 1/4 fruit body; perianth bristles generally < fruit
 var. engelmannii
                8' Tubercle 1/3–1/2 fruit body; perianth bristles > fruit
 var. obtusa
            6' Style (2)3-branched; fruit (2)3-sided to round
 
              9. Fruit longitudinal ridges generally > 3, crossbars many
 
                10. Annual, rhizome 0
 E. acicularis var. bella
                10' Perennial, rhizomed
 
                  11. Stem solid, generally < 0.5 mm wide, not flattened in pressing; flower bract with (reddish) brown stripes
 E. acicularis var. acicularis
                  11' Stem spongy, generally > 0.5 mm wide, often flattened in pressing; flower bract without (reddish) brown stripes
 E. radicans
              9' Fruit longitudinal ridges 0–3, crossbars 0
 
                12. Spikelet 2–9-flowered
 
                  13. Stem generally 2–7 cm, not rhizomed; fruit 1–1.3 mm, generally = perianth bristles; spikelet 2–3.5 mm
 E. parvula
                  13' Stem generally 10–40 cm, rhizomed; fruit 2–3 mm, generally < perianth bristles; spikelet 4–7 mm
 E. quinqueflora
                12' Spikelet generally 10–many-flowered
 
                  14. Flower bracts weakly 2-ranked; fruit tubercle base 3-lobed
 2 E. pachycarpa
                  14' Flower bracts spiraled; fruit tubercle base ± round
 
                    15. Fruit ± 1.5 mm, tubercle flat; plant cespitose, rhizome short; spikelet 3–8 mm
 E. bolanderi
                    15' Fruit ± 1–3 mm, tubercle not flat; plant loosely cespitose, rhizome long; spikelet 3–20 mm
 
                      16. Fruit tubercle base not narrowed; stem tip often rooting to form new plant
 E. rostellata
                      16' Fruit tubercle base slightly narrowed; stem generally ascending, tip not rooting
 
                        17. Spikelet oblong to ovate, ± as wide as stem, tip obtuse to acute; perianth bristles 2–6, generally < fruit
 E. montevidensis
                        17' Spikelet linear-lanceolate to fusiform, much wider than stem, tip acute to acuminate; perianth bristles 6–7, generally > fruit
 E. parishii

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