Species profile—Eleocharis blakeana
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Cyperaceae → Eleocharis blakeana
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Scientific name
- Eleocharis blakeana L.A.S.Johnson & O.D.Evans
- WildNet taxon ID
- 11468
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Least concern
- Conservation significant
- No
- Confidential
- No
- Wetland status
- Wetland Indicator Species
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- BRI 078495, handwriting of author
- Description
- Eleocharis blakeana is a perennial sedge with densely tufted, green, cylindrical stems which are transversely septate, up to 50 cm long and about 1 mm wide. The leaves are reduced to a narrow cylindrical sheath which surrounds the base of each stem. The sheaths are reddish-brown or purplish in colour and truncate with a distinct mucro at the tip. The flowers are borne in a dense cylindrical cluster up to 20 cm long at the end of the stems. The glumes (scales encasing the flower cluster) are spirally arranged, pale brown to red-brown, ovate to lance shaped and 2.5 to 3.2 mm long. The nuts are shiny, yellowish to golden brown, 1.3 to 1.6 mm long by 0.6 to 0.8 mm wide, egg-shaped in outline and with a small cone-shaped point at the tip. Each nut is surrounded by 6 to 8 appressed bristles, which are about 1/4 to 2/3 the length of the nut.
This species can be mistaken for other Eleocharis species which also have septate stems, but it is distinguished by the smaller glumes and the truncate sheath with a distinct mucro. (Halford 1996; Wilson 2006). - Distribution
- Eleocharis blakeana is known from Royles near Marlborough, south to near Talwood on the Queensland/New South Wales border. It is recorded from Lake Broadwater Conservation Park and Bringalily State Forest in Queensland. This species has also been recorded from central northern New South Wales (Halford 1996; Wilson 2006; Queensland Herbarium 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -22.688864, 147.4111513
-28.5906398, 151.1094265 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Eleocharis blakeana occurs on plains and low undulating country on poorly drained, clayey soils. It commonly grows in ephemeral wet habitats in melon hole country in brigalow and belah woodlands, and in small depressions along drainage lines in open forest and woodland communities. (Halford 1996; Wilson 2006)
- Reproduction
- In this species, flowers have been recorded from March to July and in October. (Halford 1996)
- Threatening processes
- The majority of the collections of Eleocharis blakeana are from freehold land or along roadsides. One population of E. blakeana is recorded from Lake Broadwater Conservation Park and one from Bringalily State Forest. There are no quantitative data on the present population levels of E. blakeana in the wild. A number of past records are now highly modified habitats, for example, as a result of agricultural development. The species is normally subjected to some form of seasonal inundation which is reflected in its occurrence in modified habitats where water can collect (Halford, 1996).
- Notes
- Contributors: Ron Booth, Mellisa Mayhew 16/02/2009
- References
- Halford, D. (1996). Eleocharis blakeana, in Species Management Manual. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 03/04/2012.
Wilson, K.L. (2006). Eleocharis blakeana, in PlantNet: New South Wales Flora Online. National Herbarium of New South Wales. Accessed 30/09/2008. http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (25/06/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=11468.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
