Eleocharis parvula(Roem. & Schult.) Link ex Bluff, Nees & Schauer

dwarf spikerush

WFO wfo-0000405697 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 3 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 3 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Derek
fig. a Derek, CC BY 4.0 / 2011-10-17 / obs. 64646642
Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Derek
fig. b Derek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 64646666
Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Zihao Wang
fig. c Zihao Wang, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 162758611
Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Derek
fig. d Derek, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 64646674
Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Zihao Wang
fig. e Zihao Wang, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 162758733
Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Zihao Wang
fig. f Zihao Wang, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 162758624
Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. g Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 68858458
Eleocharis parvula, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. h Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 68858616

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 73 botanical countries

Regions where Eleocharis parvula is native: Chita, Hainan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Korea, North Caucasus, Primorye, Uzbekistan, Jawa, Vietnam, Baltic States, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Alabama, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Labrador, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Brunswick, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oregon, Québec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Brazil Southeast, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela ChitaHainanJapanKazakhstanKhabarovskNorth CaucasusPrimoryeUzbekistanJawaVietnamBaltic StatesDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceIrelandItalyNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenUkraineAlabamaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaKansasLabradorLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMichiganMississippiMissouriNew BrunswickNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNova ScotiaOhioOregonQuébecSouth CarolinaTennesseeVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinBrazil SoutheastCubaGuatemalaHondurasNicaraguaVenezuela KoreaSardegna
Native distribution of Eleocharis parvula, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Kansas KAN
Labrador LAB
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Michigan MIC
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
New Brunswick NBR
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Oregon ORE
Québec QUE
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Baltic States BLT EUROPE
Denmark DEN
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Ukraine UKR
Chita CTA ASIA-TEMPERATE
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Korea KOR
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Uzbekistan UZB
Brazil Southeast BZL SOUTHERN AMERICA
Cuba CUB
Guatemala GUA
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Venezuela VEN
Jawa JAW ASIA-TROPICAL
Vietnam VIE

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 25 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Baeothryon nanum A.Dietr.
  • Chaetocyperus membranaceus Buckley
  • Chaetocyperus pusillus Steud.
  • Chaetocyperus pygmaeus (Torr.) Torr. ex A.Gray
  • Clavula comosa Dumort.
  • Cyperus parvulus (Roem. & Schult.) Missbach & E.H.L.Krause
  • Eleocharis leptos (Steud.) Svenson
  • Eleocharis leptos var. johnstonii Svenson
  • Eleocharis membranacea (Buckley) Gilly
  • Eleocharis parvula (Roem. & Schult.) Palla
  • Eleocharis parvula f. parvula
  • Eleocharis parvula f. spongiosa Fassett
  • Eleocharis parvula subsp. oppermannii Zoz
  • Eleocharis parvula var. parvula
  • Eleocharis pygmaea Torr.
  • Eleogiton parvula (Roem. & Schult.) Link
  • Isolepis leptos Steud.
  • Limnochloa parvula (Roem. & Schult.) Rchb.
  • Scirpus comosus (Dumort.) B.D.Jacks.
  • Scirpus comosus Dumort.
  • Scirpus leptos (Steud.) C.Wright
  • Scirpus nanus Spreng.
  • Scirpus parvulus Roem. & Schult.
  • Scirpus pollicaris Delile

and 1 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.