Flora of the Southeastern United States

Eleocharis tortilis (Link) J.A. Schultes. Common name: Twisted Spikerush. Phenology: Jul-Sep. Habitat: Wet pine savannas, Coastal Plain seepage bogs, seeps, pocosin ecotones. In Coastal Plain-like seepages in the Ridge and Valley province, and rarely in high elevation mixed herbaceous and swamp seepage habitats in the mountains. Distribution: NJ south to FL, west to TX, inland to sw. NC, ne. GA, w. TN, and AR. Discovered in Rabun County, GA (Melanie Flood, pers. comm., 2022) in a high elevation (ca. 1700 ft) seepage with Acer rubrum and Platanthera clavellata. It is generally uncommon to rare outside of the Coastal Plain.

ID notes: Besides the obviously smaller tubercle, E. tortilis usually has acutely triangular culms, compared to the elliptic culms of E. tuberculosa, although see Smith et al. (2002) for a discussion on Texas specimens.

Origin/Endemic status: Endemic

Other Comments: R

Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, ETx1, F, FNA23, G, GW1, K4, NS, NY, POWO, RAB, Tat, Tn, Tx, Va, WH3; < Eleocharis simplex (Elliott) A.Dietr. — S, misapplied; Scirpus tortilis Link. Basionym: Scirpus tortilis Link 1820

Links to other floras: = Eleocharis tortilis - FNA23

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACW
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW
• Great Plains: FACW
• Northcentral & Northeast: FACW

Heliophily ⓘ: 8