Eleocharis quadrangulata (Michx.) Roem. & Schult.

Square Stem Spikerush

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Square Stem Spikerush is a native herbaceous perennial in the Sedge family (Cyperaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. Square Stem Spikerush occurs around the margins of brackish and freshwater ponds, marshes, and lakes, often growing in shallow water. It is a perennial from a rhizome. The stems are erect, 4-angled, spongy, 2-3 feet in height, non-septate, and green in color. The internal transverse septa are incomplete. Leaves are 2 and basal. They are mostly reduced to persistent leaf sheaths, only rarely with a small blade-like portion at the apex of the sheath. Flowers are produced in terminal spikes that are not thicker than the stem. The spikes are cylindric and up to 5 cm in length. Individual flowers have 6-7 minutely retrorsely spinulose perianth bristles that are unequal in length and shorter than to equal the length of the achene. The achene is yellowish-brown in color, obovate in outline, with 19-38 rows of transversely elongated cells. The tubercle is deltoid and dark brown in color. Square Stem Spikerush is occasionally available from nurseries that specialize in aquatic plants. It can be grown as an emergent in outdoor pools.—A. Diamond

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Native OBL (NWPL) G4 (Global Rank)

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