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Eriocaulon

(Genus)

Overview

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Eriocaulon (pipewort) is a genus of about 400 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Eriocaulaceae. The genus is widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical regions, particularly southern Asia and the Americas. A few species extend to temperate regions, with e.g. 10 species in the United States, mostly in the southern states from California to Florida, and only two species in Canada; China has 35 species, also mostly southern. Only one species (E. aquaticum) occurs in Europe, where it is confined to the Atlantic Ocean coasts of Scotland and Ireland; this species also occurs in eastern North America and is thought to be a relatively recent natural colonist in Europe. In the Americas, Eriocaulon is the only genus in its family that occurs north of Florida.1] They tend to be associated with wet soils, many growing in shallow water. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek e????, erion, meaning 'wool', and ?a????, caulos, meaning 'stalk'.[2]

The species are mostly herbaceous perennial plants, though some are annual plants; they resemble plants in the related families Cyperaceae (sedges) and Juncaceae (rushes), and like them, have rather small, wind-pollinated flowers.

Gallery

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/i> is the only genus in its family that occurs north of Florida.1] They tend to be associated with wet soils, many growing in shallow water. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek e????, erion, meaning 'wool', and ?a????, caulos, meaning 'stalk'.[2]

The species are mostly herbaceous perennial plants, though some are annual plants; they resemble plants in the related families Cyperaceae (sedges) and Juncaceae (rushes), and like them, have rather small, wind-pollinated flowers.

Gallery

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References

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  1. ^ Kral, Robert (1966), "Eriocaulaceae of continental North America north of Mexico", Sida 2: 285?332 
  2. ^ Kral, Robert (2006), "Eriocaulon", in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+, Flora of North America, 22, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=112020 

Swapna, M. M., Rajesh, K. P., Manju, C. N. and Prakashkumar, R. 2012. Eriocaulon madayiparense (Eriocaulaceae) ? A new species from the foot hills of the Western Ghats of India. PhytoKeys 10: 19?23.doi:10.3897/phytokeys.10.2297.

External links

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Taxonomy

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The Genus Eriocaulon is further organized into finer groupings including:

References

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  1. ^ Kral, Robert (1966), "Eriocaulaceae of continental North America north of Mexico", Sida 2: 285?332 
  2. ^ Kral, Robert (2006), "Eriocaulon", in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+, Flora of North America, 22, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=112020 

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 14:43:53