Eleocharis engelmannii var. engelmannii

Engelmann's spikerush

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: annual · Native

Engelmann's spikerush is a California native annual found in the northern Coast Ranges, California Ranges, Sierra Nevada, northern Central Coast, and southern Coastal regions in fresh wet bare soil at elevations of 30 to 2,400 meters. Flowering from spring to fall, this delicate spikerush produces small, inconspicuous flowers in dense, narrow spikes. Growing with slender, bright green stems 5 to 30 centimeters tall, it forms dense clusters in moist habitats. Its leaves are reduced to sheaths at the base of the stems, giving the plant a grass-like appearance. The fruit is accompanied by perianth bristles approximately equal in length to the fruit itself.

Habitat: Fresh wet bare soil

Bloom period: Spring-fall

Elevation: 30-2400 m

Bioregions: NCoR, CaRF (3 mi n of Redding, Shasta Co.), SN, n CCo (Marin Co.), SCo (Riverside Co.), n MP

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.