''Eleocharis vivipara'' is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by several common names, including umbrella hairgrass, sprouting spikerush, and viviparous spikerush. It is native to the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from eastern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to eastern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It takes the form of a clump of thin stems. A spike of flowers appears at the tip of the stem. The plant may also reproduce by growing a plantlet and runners. ''Eleocharis vivipara'' may grow in the water or on land. When it is aquatic it uses

C3 carbon fixation carbon fixation is the most common of three metabolic pathways for carbon fixation in photosynthesis, along with and CAM. This process converts carbon dioxide and ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP, a 5-carbon sugar) into two molecules of 3-phosph ...

pathways for photosynthesis. When it grows out of the water it switches to the C4 mechanism. This species grows along the margins of water bodies, such as ponds, marshes, and ditches.

Cultivation

It can also be cultivated and used as an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

plant.Roe, Colin D. (1967), ''A Manual of Aquarium Plants'', Shirley Aquatics, Solihull

References

External links

US Invasive plants - illustrated

Plant of the Week
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5359228 vivipara Freshwater plants Flora of the Southeastern United States Garden plants of North America Plants described in 1827 Flora without expected TNC conservation status