|
|
| Photo
by Renee Brecht |
Britton and Brown. See
credits below.** |
| Botanical name: |
Eriocaulon parkeri B.L.Rob.
|
| Common
name: |
Parker's pipewort
|
| Synonomy: |
| Eriocaulon rollandii Rouss. |
| Eriocaulon septangulare With. var. parkeri (B.L. Rob.) B. Boivin & J. Cay. |
|
| Group: |
Monocot
|
| Family: |
Eriocaulaceae |
| Growth
Type: |
Forb/herb
|
| Duration: |
Perennial;
however, research by The New England Wild Flower Society (1994)
indicates that the species behaves as an annual rather than a perennial.
|
| Origin: | Native |
| Plant
height: |
1.0-20 cm
|
| Foliage: |
Rosette with a spongy base, with delicate, grass-like leaves, 2-5 mm wide, tapering leaves 2-6 cm long
|
| Flower: |
Two
to four leafless scapes with 4-5 ridges (angular in cross-section),
2.5-10 cm long, bear a button-like cluster of minutely hair or hairless
terminal flower heads that are 3-6 mm in diameter. Flowers are
unisexual, with 2 sepals and 2 white petals. Nectar producing gland
just below the tip of the petal. |
| Flowering/fruiting time |
flowers late July, into September; fruit, capsules with two elliptical .5 mm-long seeds.
|
| Habitat: |
Freshwater intertidal zones in estuaries, generally submerged by daily tides and seen at lower tides. |
| Range
in
New Jersey: |
Coastal strip of Coastal plain and the Delaware Bay shore |
| Heritage ranking if any: |
S2, HL |
| Distribution: |
|
| Misc.: |
Compound of Greek erion, wool, and caulos, a stalk, from the woool at the base of the scape in the original species (Fernald, 390).
According
to Witmer Stone, it was first recognized by Dr. Robinson as distinct
from a specimen collected Discovered by Charles F. Parker, 1820-1883.
In NJ, it is associated with Elatine americana, E. minima, Isoetes riparia, Limosella subulata, Micranthemum micranthemoides, Sagittaria subulata, and Zizania aquatica. (Ferren and Schuyler, 1980, as quoted in ESA available below)
Pollination
is undetermined; some experts suggest that they are autogamous
(self-pollinated) or entomophilous (insect-pollinated), while Gleason
and Cronquist (1991) suggest they are either anemophilous
(wind-pollinated) or entomophilous. Ruhland (1930) and Schuyler (1990)
suggest that the tiny mites that crawl around the flower heads are not
highly mobile, pollination likely occurs between flowers on the same
head. Schulyer also suggests seeds are wind or water dispersed, and
Haines (2001) suggests seeds may also be dispersed by waterfowl.
NJ Element Stewardship Abstract available here
This plant is also profiled on the Center for Plant Conservation website.
|
Not sure what a word means? Use Answers.com:
|
Sources
**USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 1: 454.
Haines, A. 2001.
Eriocaulon parkeri (Parker's Pipewort) Conservation and Research Plan.
Framingham, MA: New England Wild Flower Society. p.45+ iii.
Schuyler, A.E. 1990.
Element Stewardship Abstract for Eriocaulon parkeri. Trenton, NJ:
Department of Environmental Protection and Forestry. p.8. Stewardship
Abstract No.: 007.
|
|
|
