Distribution

Eleocharis macrostachya
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Eleocharis
Species:
E. macrostachya
Binomial name
Eleocharis macrostachya
Synonyms[2]
  • Eleocharis perlonga Fernald & Brackett
  • Eleocharis xyridiformisFernald & Brackett

Eleocharis macrostachya is a species of spikesedge known by the common name pale spikerush.[3]

It is widely distributed in North America and occurs in parts of South America.[2][4] It is a plant of varied moist habitats, including freshwater lakes and brackish marshes and ponds, ditches, vernal pools, and wet meadows.

Description

Eleocharis macrostachya is a rhizomatous perennial with bright green erect stems and straw-colored basal leaves, typically reaching heights between one half and one meter. At the top of each stem is a narrow, lance-shaped or cylindrical inflorescence, featuring a single spike ranging from 5 to 40 mm long. This spike contains 30 to 80 spirally arranged florets, each under a scale measuring 2 to 5.5 mm, usually reddish or orange-brown. The lowest scale wraps around 75-100% of the stem without a flower, and the second lowest may or may not have a flower. The leaves are bladeless sheaths on the lower stem, and the upper sheath is firm and often reddish towards the base. Stems, which are erect with up to 25 vertical ribs, form colonies from long rhizomes.

Each flower produces a single seed (achene) that drops independently of the scale. Achenes are 1.1 to 1.9 mm long, yellowish to dark brown, with a distinct tubercle at the tip, measuring one or two millimeters long.[5] Tubercles are whitish to dark brown, pyramidal, .3 to .7 mm long. Additionally, around the achene are 4 barbed bristles, pale brown to whitish, and they may sometimes be absent.

Use in phytoremediation

E. macrostachya has been studied as part of wetland restoration, as well as the removal of arsenic in groundwater via rhizofiltration as part of phytoremediation.[6][7] Wetlands have the capacity to remove many conventional contaminants from wastewater, even in highly saline water.[8] Olmos-Marquez (2012) identified E. macrostachya as having the greatest arsenic retention in an experimental wetland, suggesting that it acts as a rhizofiltrator.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Lansdown, R.V. (2016). "Eleocharis macrostachya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T64311298A66891680. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64311298A66891680.en. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ↑ "Eleocharis macrostachya (Pale Spikerush): Minnesota Wildflowers". www.minnesotawildflowers.info. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  4. ↑ "Eleocharis macrostachya". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  5. ↑ "Eleocharis macrostachya in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  6. ↑ Fraser, Alexandra; Kindscher, Kelly (2001-12-01). "Tree spade transplanting of Spartina pectinata (Link) and Eleocharis macrostachya (Britt.) in a prairie wetland restoration site". Aquatic Botany. 71 (4): 297–304. doi:10.1016/S0304-3770(01)00185-1. ISSN 0304-3770.
  7. ↑ Márquez, Mario Alberto Olmos; Rivero, Jesús Manuel Ochoa; Herrera, María Teresa Alarcón; Estrada, Eduardo Santellano; Vega-Mares, José Humberto; Aragón, María Cecilia Valles (2020). "Performance of a Pilot Subsurface Flow Treatment Wetland System, Used for Arsenic Removal from Reverse Osmosis Concentrate, in the Municipality of Julimes, Chihuahua, Mexico". Ingeniería y universidad. 24 (24): 10. ISSN 0123-2126.
  8. ↑ Berg, Elisa C.; Borges, Alisson C. (2020). "Use of plants in the remediation of arsenic-contaminated waters". Water Environment Research. 92 (10): 1669–1676. doi:10.1002/wer.1419. ISSN 1554-7531.
  9. ↑ Olmos-Márquez, Mario Alberto; Alarcón-Herrera, Maria Teresa; Martín-Domínguez, Ignacio Ramiro (2012-03-01). "Performance of Eleocharis macrostachya and its importance for arsenic retention in constructed wetlands". Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 19 (3): 763–771. doi:10.1007/s11356-011-0598-x. ISSN 1614-7499. PMID 21935698. S2CID 25907074.
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