''Eleocharis ochrostachys'', commonly known as spike rush, 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 and Asia.

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 and produces green flowers. The sedge has short rhizomes and long

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s. The smooth, erect, rigid and terete stems are in height and have a diameter of . The leaves have membranous sheaths and are a purplish colour at the base. The flowers are on pale green cylindrical spikelets cylindrical that are wider than the stem. The spikelets are long and with firm

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ...

s. After flowering biconvex light brown to grey coloured nuts form that are ribbed on the margins with an obovate to broadly obovate shape that are s in length.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist

Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (30 May 1783 – 12 May 1856) was a German physician and an authority on poaceae, grasses. Biography Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel was born at Esslingen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. He was educated at the University of ...

in 1854 as part of the work ''Synopsis Plantarum Glumacearum''. Several synonyms are known including; ''Eleocharis variegata'' var. ''laxiflora'', ''Scirpus laxiflorus'' and ''Eleocharis difformis''.

Distribution

It is found in and around swampy areas throughout its extensive range. The range of the plant includes coastal areas in Australia,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

and

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

. In Australia the plant is often in closed forest or in ''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'' dominated swamps in wet areas such as swamps, creek-lines or damp depressions. The sedge has a scattered distribution in northern Australia through parts of the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

region of

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 ...

, the

top end The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

of 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 ...

, parts of northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and coastal parts of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11086171 Plants described in 1854 Flora of Western Australia ochrostachys