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Eleocharis torticulmis

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Eleocharis torticulmis

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Eleocharis
Species:
E. torticulmis
Binomial name
Eleocharis torticulmis
S.G.Sm.

Eleocharis torticulmis is a rare species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names twisted spikerush and twist-stem spikerush. It is endemic to Plumas County, California, where it is known from two locations within a kilometer of each other in the Butterfly Valley Botanical Area.[1][2] It grows in open wet habitat such as fens and meadows. It was separated from Eleocharis suksdorfiana and described to science as a new species in 2001.[3]

This perennial spikerush grows from a tiny rhizome and a small, hard caudex. It produces a tuft of erect stems 20 to 40 centimeters tall. Each stem is spirally twisted and contracted near the tip, becoming somewhat flattened. The spikelet is under a centimeter long and contains up to 10 tiny flowers.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Flora of North America
  2. ^ The Nature Conservancy[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Smith, S. G. (2001). Taxonomic innovations in North American Eleocharis (Cyperaceae). Novon 11:2 241-57.
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