Illinois Natural History Survey - University of Illinois

Eleocharis equisetoides
Knotted spikerush, Horsetail spike rush
Taxonomy

Synonyms:

Subspecific taxa:

Classification:

Other taxonomic & nomenclature sources: USDA Plants;  ITIS;  The Plant List;  IPNI

Species Distribution
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More about map & occurrence records

County Map Legend
Absent:
Not known from county
Medium confidence:
Medium or unknown confidence;
often old records or unverifiable observations
Medium-high confidence:
Often observations by expert botanists
High confidence:
Often vouchered herbarium records
Planted / introduced:
Native species introduced outside historic range,
or only in planted locations within county (e.g., restorations)
Historic / extirpated:
Only historic records for the species; likely extirpated
(Note that this category is not yet functional)

North American distribution maps for this species: FLNA;  USDA Plants;  BONAP;  BISON

Collections, Observations & Flowering by Month [?]

J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

Collections & Observations by Decade [?]

Species Status

Status/Listing: Extinct

Notes:Ebinger et al. 2010, say the following about this species in IL: "This species of open wetlands is native to much of the eastern United States (Gonza´ lez-Elizondo 2002). Jones and Fuller (1955) and later Mohlenbrock (2001a, 2002a) reported this species from Cook County [1890]. There are two specimens on the herbarium sheet, the basal part of a sterile E. quadrangulata, and the top parts of six culms of E. quisetoides (Boufford 2009). Bowles et al. (1991) considers this species as extirpated, while Gonza´ lez-Elizondo (2002) did not list this species for Illinois in the ‘‘Flora of North America.’’

Origin: Native

Species Description

General: Monocot, perennial

Roots: adventitious, fibrous

Shoots: alternate leaf arrangment; simple leaf type; entire leaf margin; Parallel leaf venation; hastate leaf shape

Inflorescence: spike, head

Flowers: perfect; complete, regular; hypogynous ovary position

Fruit: achene

Physiology: autotrophic; C3 C02 fixation

Reproduction: sexual

Ecology & Natural History

Habitat:

ILPIN Notes: Culms round, septate by cross-partitions, lowest sheaths frequently bearing a leaf; scales rather elliptic; bristles few. Leaves reduced to bladeless sheaths

Functional Relationships:

  • Pollinators: wind
  • Dispersal: water, wind
  • Mycorrhizae:
  • N2 fixation:

Human Relationships:

  • Edibility [?] :
  • Showy Flowers:

Wildlife and Livestock Information:

  • Food Value:
  • Cover Value:

Coefficient of Conservatism (C-value) [?] :

  • Entire State: 10
  • Chicago Area: 10

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