Search Field Guide
Advanced Search
MT Gov Logo
Montana Field Guide

Montana Field Guides

Purple Spikerush - Eleocharis atropurpurea

Image Copyright and Usage Information
Undetermined Origin

Global Rank: G4G5
State Rank: SU
(see State Rank Reason below)
C-value:


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links

State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Reported for Montana in Dorn (1984).
 
General Description
Plants annual, cespitose. Culms erect or arcuate, terete, up to 15 cm tall. Leaf sheath oblique at apex and firm. Spikelet ovoid, up to 7 mm long, many-flowered; scales ovate, membranaceous with a green midrib and deep brown sides. Bristles several, translucent, slender, shorter than the achene or reduced; stamens 1-3; styles 2-branched, on a lenticular, obovoid achene, about 0.5 mm long, smooth, shining, lustrous black; tubercle conic and minute (Kolstad 1986, Flora of the Great Plains).

Range Comments
Erractic distribution in lower half of USA but evidently nowhere common (Kartesz 2009).

Habitat
Sandy, moist areas, low prairies, margins of ponds (Kolstad 1986).


References
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Purple Spikerush"
Login Logout

Take us with you! PDF icon

Look for this PDF icon as you search and browse.  Click it to build a custom PDF with species shown on that page or for all the species within that taxonomic level.  To create your own list of species, use the PDF Creator tool at the bottom of the Advanced Search page.

Here's some links if you want to download a whole group.

Mammals
Birds
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish
Invertebrates
Butterflies / Moths
Dragonflies / Damselflies
Ferns and allies
Conifers
Flowering Plants (Dicots)
Flowering Plants (Monocots)
Bryophytes
Lichens
Ecological Systems
Noxious Weeds
Citation for data on this website:
Purple Spikerush — Eleocharis atropurpurea.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from