''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 wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

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 In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

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 science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

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 book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

''. 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 (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. It is also found in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and Norfolk Island. In

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

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

Mid West The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia, about north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to east of W ...

, 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 (state) Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania acuta Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)