Eleocharis quadrangulata

Squarestem spikerush, Squarestem Spikerush

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Squarestem spikerush is a native perennial found in the Great Valley in freshwater ponds at elevations of 10 to 600 meters. Flowering during summer, this plant produces pale flowers in cylindrical spikes 15 to 76 millimeters long. Growing with distinctive 4-angled stems 40 to 100 centimeters tall, it has a robust rhizomatous root system. Its leaf sheaths are firm and persistent, with acute to acuminate tips that may or may not develop blade-like extensions. The fruit is small, approximately 2 to 3 millimeters long, with distinctive transverse-elongate cellular patterns on its surface.

Habitat: Local. Freshwater ponds

Bloom period: Summer

Elevation: 10-600 m

Bioregions: GV

California counties: Butte, Merced, Tehama, Sacramento, Shasta, Yuba

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