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Eleocharis acicularis

(L.) Roemer & J.A. Schultes

Least Spikerush

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1347997
Element CodePMCYP092X0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderCyperales
FamilyCyperaceae
GenusEleocharis
Other Common Names
Éléocharide aciculaire (FR) Needle Spikerush (EN) needle spikerush (EN)
Concept Reference
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 23. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 608 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
This record represents Eleocharis acicularis in the narrow sense not including E. reverchonii as recognized in FNA (vol. 23, 2002) and Weakley et al. (2026). In contrast, Kartesz (1994) included E. reverchonii in E. acicularis var. acicularis. Another difference between FNA (vol. 23, 2002) and Kartesz (1994) is that FNA (vol. 23, 2002) does not recognize infrataxa in E. acicularis, while Kartesz (1994) recognized three varieties (var. acicularis, var. gracilescens, and var. submersa).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-07-14
Change Date1984-04-24
Edition Date2025-07-14
Edition AuthorsJohnson, J. (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Eleocharis acicularis has a nearly global distribution in North and South America, Eurasia, and northern Africa. With a broad range, large number of occurrences, and a preference for widespread habitats, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Eleocharis acicularis has a nearly global distribution in North and South America, Eurasia, and northern Africa (FNA 2002, POWO 2025). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are thousands of occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Eleocharis acicularis is potentially threatened by development, water management, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, tolerance of light disturbance, and affinity for typically abundant habitats, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Eleocharis acicularis grows in "bare, wet soil or in fresh (rarely brackish) lakes, ponds, vernal pools, meadows, springs, [and] disturbed places" (FNA 2002).

Ecology

"Eleocharis acicularis is abundant and ecologically important throughout much of its range. It occurs in a wide variety of habitats, including acid waters" (FNA 2002).
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOLHERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
LabradorS3Yes
Island of NewfoundlandS3Yes
NunavutS4Yes
New BrunswickS5Yes
ManitobaS5Yes
QuebecS5Yes
Prince Edward IslandS3Yes
OntarioS5Yes
AlbertaS5Yes
SaskatchewanS4Yes
Yukon TerritoryS5Yes
British ColumbiaS5Yes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
KansasS3Yes
North CarolinaS2Yes
MontanaSNRYes
New MexicoSNRYes
NevadaS3Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
ArizonaS4Yes
GeorgiaS4Yes
OhioS5Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
ColoradoS4Yes
IdahoSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
South DakotaSNRYes
AlaskaSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
DelawareS4Yes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
KentuckyS5Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
South CarolinaS3Yes
IndianaSNRYes
UtahSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
WisconsinSNRYes
OregonSNRYes
NebraskaS5Yes
VermontS5Yes
TexasSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
New JerseyS4Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
MississippiS4Yes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
IllinoisS3Yes
West VirginiaS4Yes
MissouriSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
WyomingS4Yes
FloridaSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undeterminedUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (3)
Oregon (2)
AreaForestAcres
DoneganUmpqua National Forest5,914
Jackson Creek AppendageUmpqua National Forest4,673
Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Kelley MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,590
References (8)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 23. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 608 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Plants of the World Online (POWO). 2025. Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Online. Available: https://powo.science.kew.org/ (accessed 2025).
  6. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  8. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2026. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, U.S.A. Online. Available: fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2026).