SEDGE FAMILY. 251 
8. Eleocharis ovata (Roth) R. & S. Ovoid Saas -rush. (Fig. 584.) 
Scirpus ovatus Roth, Catal. Bot. 1: 5. 1797. 
Eleocharis ovata R. & §. Syst. 2:152. 1817. 
Annual, roots fibrous, culms tufted, slender or 
filiform, rather deep green, nearly terete, mostly 
erect, 2’-16’ tall. Upper sheath 1-toothed; spike- 
let ovoid or oblong, obtuse, many-flowered, 2//-5/’ 
long, 1/’-1%4’’ in diameter; scales thin, oblong-or- 
bicular, very obtuse, brown with a green midvein 
and scarious margins; bristles 6-8 (sometimes fewer 
or wanting), deciduous, usually longer than the 
achene; stamens 2 or 3; style 2-3-cleft; achene pale 
brown, shining, lenticular, obovate-oblong, smooth, 
44” long or more; tubercle deltoid, acute, com- 
pressed, scarcely constricted at the base, about 
one-fourth as long as the achene and narrower. 
In wet soil. New Brunswick to Ontario and British 
Columbia, south to Florida, Oregon, Nebraska and 
Texas. Alsoin Europe. Variable. July—Sept. 
9: Eleocharis Engelmanni Steud. Engelmann’s Spike-rush. (Fig. 585.) 
Eleocharis Engelmanni Steud. Syn. Pl. Cyp. 79. 1855. 
Eleocharis ovata var. Engelmanni Britton, Journ. N. 
Y. Micros. Soc. 5: 103. 1889. 
Annual, similar to the preceding species, but 
culms commonly taller, sometimes 18’ high. Up- 
per sheath obliquely truncate or 1-toothed; spike- 
let oblong-cylindric or ovoid-cylindric, obtuse or 
subacute, 2//-8’’ long, 1/’-134’’ in diameter, many- 
flowered; scales pale brown with a green midvein 
and narrow scarious margins, ovate, obtuse, de- 
ciduous; style 2-cleft; bristles about 6, not longer 
than the achene; achene broadly obovate, brown, 
smooth, lenticular; tubercle broad, low, covering 
the top of the achene, less than one-fourth its 
length. 
In wet soil, Massachusetts to southern New Jersey, 
west to Indiana, Arkansas, Texas and California. 
July—Sept. 
to. Eleocharis palustris (L.) R. & S. Creeping Spike-rush. (Fig. 586.) 
Scirpus palustris I. Sp. Pl. 47. 1753. 
Eleocharis palustris R. & S. Syst. 2: 151. 1817. 
ears palustris var. vigens Bailey; Britton, Journ. 
N. Y. Micros. Soc. 5: 104. 1889. 
Perennial by horizontal rootstocks, culms stout, 
terete or somewhat compressed, striate, 1°-5° tall. 
Basal sheaths brown, rarely bearing a short blade, the 
upper one obliquely truncate; spikelet ovoid-cylin- 
dric, 3/’-12’’ long, 114/’-2’’ in diameter, many-flow- 
ered, thicker than the culm; scales ovate-oblong or 
ovate-lanceolate, purplish-brown with scarious mar- 
gin and a green midvein, or pale green all over; bris- 
tles usually 4, slender, retrorsely barbed, longer than 
the achene and tubercle, sometimes wanting; sta- 
mens 2-3; style 2-3-cleft; achene lenticular, smooth, 
yellow, over 14’” long; tubercle conic-triangular, 
constricted at the base, flattened, one-fourth to one- 
half as long as the achene. 
In ponds, swamps and marshes, Labrador to British Columbia, south to Florida, Texas and 
California, Also in Europe and Asia. Aug.—Sept. 
