''Eleocharis acuta'', commonly known as common spikerush or small spikerush, is a sedge of the family

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' w ...

that is native to Australia.

Description

The

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial herb to grass-like sedge typically grows to a height of . It blooms between September and December producing brown flowers. It has fine upright cylinder-shaped deep-green foliage that tapers to a fine point. It has tufted and terete culms that are in length with a diameter of . The

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is found at the tip of the spike and is composed of narrow-ovoid to narrow-cylindrical spikelets with a length of . It will later form a shiny yellow to brown coloured nut with a plano-convex to biconvex, broad-obovoid shape that is around in length with a diameter of .

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Robert Brown in 1810 as part of the work ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

''. The name of the species is often misapplied to '' Eleocharis pallens''.

Distribution and habitat

It is found widely through all Australian states, but not the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It is also found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and Norfolk Island. In

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

it is found in and around swamps and clay pans in the

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions where it grows in sandy-peaty-clay soils. It typically occurs in water or wet soil, seepage areas, freshwater lakes, and creek-beds.

Uses

It is able to grow in stationary to slowly moving water with a range extends from the coast to many inland areas. It is used in wetland area and is habitat for waterbirds as nesting material and the seeds as a food source. The plant is sold commercially as it can form dense swards able to easily colonize shallow fresh water areas including along the edges of lagoons, dams, drainage lines and waterlogged low-lying areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15584469 Plants described in 1810 Flora of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania acuta Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)