Eleocharis montevidensis

Montevideo spike rush

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Montevideo spike rush is a California native perennial found in the northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, Central Coast, southern Coast Ranges, southwestern California, and Sonoran Desert in fresh wet places like riparian zones, foothill woodlands, and pine forests at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from spring to summer, this plant produces small clusters of pale flowers in spikes 4 to 12 millimeters long with wide-rounded flower bracts. Growing 25 to 50 centimeters tall with tough, subcylindric stems 0.5 to 1.2 millimeters in diameter, it spreads via a slender rhizome. Its leaf sheaths are firm and persistent, with some showing a subtle tooth-like projection up to 1 millimeter long. The fruit is tiny, fine-wrinkled, and three-sided, accompanied by 5 to 6 short perianth bristles.

Habitat: Locally common. Fresh wet places in riparian and foothill woodland, pine forest, streams

Bloom period: Spring-summer

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaR, n SN, ScV, CCo, SCoR, SW, DSon

California counties: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Plumas, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Napa, Kern, Imperial, Lake, Nevada, Monterey, Tulare, Humboldt, Butte, Yuba, Tehama, Glenn, Trinity, Lassen, Sacramento, Colusa

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