469.010 Eleocharis R. Br.

HELEOCHARIS T. Lestib.

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial, glabrous herbs. Stolons often present in perennials. Culms ranging from 1-2 cm to 150 cm, green, terete, angular or triangular, hollow or filled with pith, smooth or ridged, rarely with transverse septa (E. dulcis). Sheaths pale, tubular, truncate above or ending in a short lobe. Leaves 0. Inflorescence a single terminal spikelet. Lowest 1-2 glumes similar to or different from upper. Glumes spirally arranged, usually numerous; margin often transparent. Perianth segments 3-9 glabrous or barbellate bristles or 0. Stamens 1-3. Nutlet with the style base persistent as an appendage (the style base excluded in all nutlet measurements).

Worldwide: c. 120 species, cosmopolitan.

Caprivi: 5 cultivated taxa.

Links to cultivated taxa View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

Species	Content
acutangula (Roxb.) Schult.	Description, Image
atropurpurea (Retz.) C. Presl	Description, Image
caduca (Delile) Schult.	Image
minuta Boeckeler
variegata (Poir.) C. Presl	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Eleocharis:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Eleocharis
Flora of Caprivi: Eleocharis
Flora of Malawi: Eleocharis
Flora of Mozambique: Eleocharis
Flora of Zambia: Eleocharis
Flora of Zimbabwe: Eleocharis

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Eleocharis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Eleocharis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Eleocharis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Eleocharis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Eleocharis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Eleocharis
JSTOR Plant Science: Eleocharis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Eleocharis
Plants of the World Online: Eleocharis
Tropicos: Eleocharis
Wikipedia: Eleocharis