Description:

• Perennial, rarely annual, herbs, usually with tufted habit, often hygrophilous, monoecious
• Roots usually with white, swollen, latticed parenchyma
• Rhizome compact, often swollen, rarely caulescent or stoloniferous
• Leaves usually crowded, radical, grass-like, often with a white, spongy, latticed tissue at base; stipules 0
• Flowers unisexual, regular or irregular, very small, 2- or 3-merous, in capitula on naked peduncles; with outer bracts (if present) forming a 2-several-seriate involucre; scape surrounded at base by a closed sheath; male and female flowers variously arranged on receptacle
• Sepals (0)2 or 3, free, or variously connate, scarious or membranous, often ciliate or dorsally hairy at apex
• Petals (0)2 or 3, free or cupular, often stipitate, thin or thick, with or without nectary gland on outer face, often ciliate or hairy
• Male flowers: stamens 6, 4, 3 or 2, usually as many as or twice as many as petals; filaments filiform, arising on petals; anthers 1- or 2-thecous, basifixed, introrse, opening longitudinally; vestigial ovary often present
• Female flowers: ovary 2- or 3-locular, superior, with a solitary, ventral-apical, pendulous, orthotropous, bitegmic ovule in each locule; style 2- or 3-branched, with or without 3 appendages or branches below; staminodes 0 or minute
• Capsule 2- or 3-locular, loculicidal
• Seeds ellipsoid or subglobose, striate, reticulate or papillate; embryo small, lenticular, forming a cup over copious starchy endosperm

Nomenclature:

• Eriocaulaceae
  • Brown: 51 (1897)
  • Friedrich-Holzhammer: 1 (1967)
  • Dahlgren et al.: 395 (1985)
  • Cook: 87 (1990)
  • Obermeyer: 9 (1985)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Genera 10, 6 contain aquatic species, pantropical, comprising ± 1200 species, with the greatest concentration of species in South America and Africa
• Southern Africa: Genera 2, species 13

References:

• BROWN, N.E. 1897. Eriocauleae. Flora capensis 7
• COOK, C.D.K. 1990. Aquatic plant book. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague
• DAHLGREN, R.M.T., CLIFFORD, H.T. AND YEO, P.F. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
• FRIEDRICH-HOLZHAMMER, M. 1967. Eriocaulaceae. Prodomus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 159
• OBERMEYER, A.A. 1985. Eriocaulaceae. Flora of southern Africa 4,2

Resources:

• Key to Eriocaulaceae genera

• Eriocaulaceae genera: