Common Spike-rush - Eleocharis palustris

Description

A plant from 10 to 60 cm in height, with far creeping rhizomes, sometimes forming tufts, and can form large stands. Terminal spikelet 5 to 20 mm, ovoid to cylindrical.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Damp grasslands, marshes and the margins of ponds and streams.

When to see it

May to July.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Widespread and quite frequent throughout Britain.

VC55 Status

Frequentin Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 179 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Common Spike-rush
Species group:
Grasses, Rushes & Sedges
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Poales
Family:
Cyperaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
89
First record:
11/05/1992 (John Mousley;Steve Grover)
Last record:
20/07/2023 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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