Eleocharis uniglumis(Link) Schult.

Slender Spike-rushSlender Spikerushonescale spikerush

WFO wfo-0000406316 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 4 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 4 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 uniglumis, photographed by Wolfgang Jauch
fig. a Wolfgang Jauch, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-06-12 / obs. 135798590

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 100 botanical countries

Regions where Eleocharis uniglumis is native: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Altay, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Qinghai, Saudi Arabia, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Føroyar, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Colorado, Delaware, Greenland, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Yukon AlgeriaMoroccoTunisiaAfghanistanAltayBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChitaInner MongoliaIranIraqIrkutskKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskMongoliaNorth CaucasusQinghaiSaudi ArabiaTadzhikistanTranscaucasusTürkiyeUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaNepalPakistanWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyKritiKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaColoradoGreenlandLabradorMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsNebraskaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOntarioPrince Edward I.QuébecSouth DakotaUtahVirginiaYukon BalearesFøroyarSardegnaDelawareRhode I.
Native distribution of Eleocharis uniglumis, 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
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baleares BAL
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
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
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
British Columbia BRC
Colorado COL
Delaware DEL
Greenland GNL
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Nebraska NEB
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ontario ONT
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
South Dakota SDA
Utah UTA
Virginia VRG
Yukon YUK
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Irkutsk IRK
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Qinghai CHQ
Saudi Arabia SAU
Tadzhikistan TZK
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Morocco MOR
Tunisia TUN
Nepal NEP ASIA-TROPICAL
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM

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.

Where it actually grows measured, from 168 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -14.8 °C -3.5 °C 1.6 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 17.5 °C 23.3 °C 27.3 °C
Annual rainfall 536 mm 702 mm 1,343 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 81 mm 122 mm 289 mm

It is found where winters bring hard frost. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 168 research-grade observations of Eleocharis uniglumis that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 41 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.

  • Clavula uniglumis (Link) Dumort.
  • Cyperus uniglumis (Link) Missbach & E.H.L.Krause
  • Eleocharis affinis C.A.Mey. ex Claus
  • Eleocharis carinata Sakalo
  • Eleocharis conica C.Presl
  • Eleocharis euuniglumis Zinserl.
  • Eleocharis halophila (Fernald & Brackett) Fernald & Brackett
  • Eleocharis klingei (Meinsh.) B.Fedtsch.
  • Eleocharis korshinskyana Zinserl.
  • Eleocharis macrocarpa Zoz
  • Eleocharis multiseta Zinserl.
  • Eleocharis palustris subsp. uniglumis (Link) Hartm.
  • Eleocharis palustris var. watsonii (Bab.) C.B.Clarke
  • Eleocharis paucidentata Zinserl.
  • Eleocharis polycaula Wender.
  • Eleocharis scythica Zinserl.
  • Eleocharis septentrionalis Zinserl.
  • Eleocharis transcaucasica Zinserl.
  • Eleocharis uniglumis subsp. watsonii (Bab.) K.Richt.
  • Eleocharis uniglumis var. affinis (C.A.Mey. ex Claus) Nyman
  • Eleocharis uniglumis var. halophila Fernald & Brackett
  • Eleocharis uniglumis var. latior T.Koyama
  • Eleocharis uniglumis var. pallida Podp.
  • Eleocharis uniglumis var. transcaucasica (Zinserl.) T.Koyama

and 17 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.