Eleocharis quadrangulata
Encyclopedia
Eleocharis quadrangulata is a species of spikesedge
known by the common names squarestem spikerush and four-angled spikerush. It is native to much of North America from eastern Canada to southern Mexico, where it grows in and around freshwater
in lakes and other water bodies. It is a rhizomatous
perennial herb growing one half to one meter in height. The spongy, compressible stem is a few millimeters wide and sharply four-angled. The inflorescence
is a single spikelet 1.5 to 7.5 centimeters long which is made up of several flowers covered in light brown bract
s.
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 names squarestem spikerush and four-angled spikerush. It is native to much of North America from eastern Canada to southern Mexico, where it grows in and around freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
in lakes and other water bodies. It 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 herb growing one half to one meter in height. The spongy, compressible stem is a few millimeters wide and sharply four-angled. The 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...
is a single spikelet 1.5 to 7.5 centimeters long which is made up of several flowers covered in light brown 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...
s.