Pauciglossia in Memoriam: a comparative look at Eleocharis pauciflora and Eleocharis elliptica.

Abstract

So many plants, so little time -- to paraphrase Mae West. Of all the plants that we learned to identify this summer, two seemingly insignificant ones, Eleocharis pauciflora and Eleocharis elliptica have captivated me. I will undoubtedly remember these two, barring a stressed laboratory quiz, for the rest of my life. I am most fortunate in that these two plants both grow so close to my home and I will be able to go and observe them whenever I wish. I don't doubt that we will become the closest of friends. The purpose of this paper, though, is to relate the observations that I have made over the last few weeks and to present some of the reasons why I think these two plants are found in the same geographical area but not always in the same identical type of microhabitat.