Family:
Eriocaulaceae Martinov
Genus:
Eriocaulon L.

Eriocaulon elegantulum Engl.

This species is accepted, and its native range is W. Tropical Africa to South Sudan and Mozambique.

[FWTA]

Eriocaulaceae, R. D. Meikle. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:1. 1968

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape
Scapes generally numerous, erect
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Capitula quite globose, about 4 mm. diam., white-papillose, without any visible involucral bracts.

[FTEA]

Eriocaulaceae, Sylvia Phillips. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1997

Morphology General Habit
Slender tufted annual.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves linear, 2–7.5 cm. long, 1.5–6 mm. wide, thin, acute or less often acuminate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape
Scapes varying from few to ± 50, often slightly flexuous, 7–25 cm. high, 4-ribbed, the ribs forming narrow wings; sheaths ± as long as the leaves, the limb with a delicate hyaline acute tip, soon splitting.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitulum globose, 3–5 mm. diameter, greyish white, the pale female petals showing among the white-hairy floral bracts; involucral bracts shorter than the capitulum width, 4–5 spaced in one circlet (best seen in very young, still hemispherical capitula), ovate-oblong,obtuse, thin and hyaline, crumpled and obscured by the expanding flowers and apparently absent at maturity; floral bracts narrowly oblong-cuneate, black, scarious, concave but not keeled, densely white-pilose on the upper blade, acute; receptacle pilose, often thinly.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers 3-merous, 1.0–1.2 mm. long, mainly female. Female flowers:sepals black, narrowly oblong, one slightly to definitely smaller, concave, lightly keeled and narrowly winged above the middle, white-hairy towards the acute tip; petals and ovary subsessile; petals narrowly oblanceolate-oblong, subequal, pallid, white-hairy around the tips, glands small, often absent on the median petal. Male flowers:calyx spathate, black, the free sepal-tips obtuse, white-pilose; petals small and included within the calyx, white-pilose, glands very small; anthers black.
sex Male
Male flowers:calyx spathate, black, the free sepal-tips obtuse, white-pilose; petals small and included within the calyx, white-pilose, glands very small; anthers black.
sex Female
Female flowers:sepals black, narrowly oblong, one slightly to definitely smaller, concave, lightly keeled and narrowly winged above the middle, white-hairy towards the acute tip; petals and ovary subsessile; petals narrowly oblanceolate-oblong, subequal, pallid, white-hairy around the tips, glands small, often absent on the median petal.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds broadly ellipsoid, 0.3 mm. long, yellowish brown, translucent, white-reticulate.
Figures
Fig. 4/4.
Habitat
Seasonal ponds, ditches, drainage lines and swampy grass areas, usually on sand, occasionally in rice fields; sea-level–1400 m.
Distribution
K7 P T1 T3 T6 T7 T8 Z

Native to:

Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zimbabwe

Eriocaulon elegantulum Engl. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Polhill, R. [2010], Tanzania 26332.008 No
Kenya 40.013 No
Schweinfurth, G. [223], Sudan K000346097 Yes
Holst, C. [3181] K000346132 Yes
Whyte, A. [sn.], Kenya K000346133 Yes
Bidgood, S. [6120], Tanzania K000468305 No

First published in Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas, C: 133 (1895)

Accepted by

  • Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.
  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Govaerts, R. (2001). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS E-F: 1-50919.
  • Phillips, S.M. (2011). Flore du Cameroun 38: 1-35. Ministère de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche scientifique (Mesres), Yaoundé.
  • Timberlake, J.R. & Martins, E.S. (eds.) (2010). Flora Zambesiaca 13(4): 1-151. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • F.T.A. 8: 254.
  • Pflanzenr. Ost.-Afr. C: 133 (1895)
  • Ruhland in Engl., Bot. Jahrb. 27: 83 (1899)

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.
  • Timberlake, J.R. & Martins, E.S. (eds.) (2010). Flora Zambesiaca 13(4): 1-151. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Engl., Die Pflanzenwelt Ost-Afrikas und der Nachbargebiete, Theile C: 133 (1895).
  • Meikle in Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 3: 63 (1968).
  • N.E. Br. in Flora of Tropical Africa 8: 254 (1901).

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0