Squarestem Spikerush (Eleocharis quadrangulata)
- Family: Sedge (Cyperaceae)
- Flowering: June-October.
- Field Marks: The square stems and the spike usually no broader than the stem are the distinguishing features.
- Habitat: Along streams, around ponds and lakes.
- Habit: Perennial herb with stout rootstocks.
- Stems: Erect, smooth, 4-sided, up to 4 feet tall.
- Leaves: 0.
- Flowers: Borne in a single spikelet at the tip of each stem, the spikelets not much broader than the stem, cylindrical, up to 2 inches long.
- Scales: Broadly ovate, rounded or somewhat pointed at the tip.
- Sepals: 0.
- Petals: 0.
- Stamens: 3.
- Pistils: Style 3-cleft; ovary superior.
- Fruits: Achenes obovoid, up to 1/16 inch long, with a narrow, cone-shaped tubercle on the top.
- Notes: The achenes are eaten by waterfowl. This species is listed for region 10 in the National Wetlands Inventory list, but Flora of the Pacific Northwest by Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973) does not record it for California.
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