''Eriocaulon parkeri'' is a species of flowering plant in the pipewort family known by the common names Parker's pipewort and estuary pipewort. It is native to eastern North America, where its distribution spans the coast from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. It is

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, however.''Eriocaulon parkeri''.
The Nature Conservancy. This small aquatic

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

ous perennial herb produces narrow, linear, grasslike leaves up to about 9 centimeters long and flowering stems up to 30 centimeters tall,''Eriocaulon parkeri''.
Flora of North America. but generally reaching 1 to 20 centimeters. The flowering stem, or scape, is about a millimeter wide or less. It is topped with a grayish, buttonlike

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 ...

just a few millimeters wide. This plant is similar to ''

Eriocaulon aquaticum ''Eriocaulon aquaticum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Eriocaulaceae. It is known by many common names such as the common pipewort, northern pipewort, seven-angled pipewort or hatpins. Description ''Eriocaulon aquaticum'' is a p ...

'', but smaller. It is

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

, with male and female flowers on the same plant. Flowering occurs in July through September.''Eriocaulon parkeri''.
Center for Plant Conservation. This plant grows in coastal habitat types, such as

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es, but in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

or slightly

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

. It may be submerged at times. It grows in mud or cobbly gravel or sand. The substrate is often subject to scouring from water action, including

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

s and

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s. The plant can tolerate a wide range of water chemistry. This species is associated with other plants such as ''

Zizania aquatica Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

'', ''

Ludwigia palustris ''Ludwigia palustris'' is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names marsh seedbox, Hampshire-purslane and water purslane. This is an aquatic or semiaquatic perennial herb which grows in moist to wet ...

'', '' Isoetes riparia'', ''

Schoenoplectus pungens ''Schoenoplectus pungens'' is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known as common threesquare, common three-square bulrush and sharp club-rush. It is a herbaceous emergent plant that is widespread across much of North and South Am ...

'', '' Bidens eatonii'', '' Bidens hyperborea'', '' Polygonum punctatum'', ''Lindernia dubia'' var. ''inundata'', ''

Elatine minima ''Elatine minima'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Elatinaceae, native to eastern Canada ( Newfoundland island, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island), the north-central United States (Minnesota and Wisconsin), the northeas ...

'', ''

Elatine americana ''Elatine'' is one of only two genera in the plant family Elatinaceae, the waterwort family. It contains about 25 species of aquatic plants known generally as waterworts. These are annual or perennial plants found in wet areas worldwide. , Plan ...

'', ''

Sagittaria subulata ''Sagittaria subulata'', the awl-leaf arrowhead, narrow-leaved arrowhead or dwarf sagittaria, is an aquatic plant species. Description It is a perennial herb up to tall. The leaves are submersed or floating, narrowly linear to ovate, not lobe ...

'', ''

Sagittaria latifolia ''Sagittaria latifolia'' is a plant found in shallow wetlands and is sometimes known as broadleaf arrowhead, duck-potato, Indian potato, katniss, or wapato. This plant produces edible tubers that have traditionally been extensively used by Nati ...

'', '' Sagittaria calycina'', ''

Acorus calamus ''Acorus calamus'' (also called sweet flag, sway or muskrat root, among many common names) is a species of flowering plant with psychoactive chemicals. It is a tall wetland monocot of the family Acoraceae, in the genus ''Acorus.'' Although us ...

'', ''

Limosella australis ''Limosella australis'', common name Welsh mudwort, is an annual dicot plant that is indigenous to the United States and Canada. It has white flowers, and blooms between July to October. Its habitat is tidal mudflats, muddy or sandy shores It is ...

'', ''

Micranthemum micranthemoides ''Hemianthus micranthemoides'', also known as Micranthemum micranthemoides, pearl grass and pearl weed, is a popular aquatic plant most commonly used in aquascaping Aquascaping is the craft of arranging aquatic plants, as well as rocks, stone ...

'', ''

Pontederia cordata ''Pontederia cordata'', common name pickerelweed (USA) or pickerel weed ( UK), is a monocotyledonous aquatic plant native to the American continents. It grows in a variety of wetlands, including pond and lake margins across an extremely large ...

'', ''

Orontium aquaticum ''Orontium aquaticum'' , sometimes called golden-club, floating arum, never-wets or tawkin, is a species of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is the single living species in the genus ''Orontium'', which also contains several extinct sp ...

'', and, in more brackish waters, ''

Spartina alterniflora ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...

''. There are about 130 occurrences of this plant today, many of which are in Quebec and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. There are many known occurrences that are now believed extirpated. Threats to the species include habitat loss due to the development and alteration of coastal habitat. It may be affected by changes in hydrologic cycles, such as damming and tide gates. It depends on a cycle of

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...

, as well; too much sediment buries plants and

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

removes the plant's substrate.

Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

directly and indirectly affects the plant's habitat.

Water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...

and boat and ship activity are threats.

Sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

could also affect the habitat.

References

External links

Maine Department of Conservation
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389296 parkeri Flora of Eastern North America Plants described in 1903