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fascicled beaksedge

millet beaksedge

Habit Plants perennial, cespitose, 100–150 cm; rhizomes absent. Plants perennial, cespitose, to 150 cm; rhizomes stoloniferous, slender.
Culms

erect to excurvedascending, narrowly linear to ± filiform, terete to obscurely trigonous, leafy, densely so toward base, stiff to rather lax.

lax, leafy, wandlike, ± terete to obscurely angled, slender.

Leaves

overtopped by culm;

blades linear, ascending, proximally flat, 1–4 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering gradually.

ascending, exceeded by culms;

blades flat, 4–7(–10) mm wide, apex trigonous, shortacuminate, tapering.

Inflorescences

spikelet clusters 1–3(–4), proximal mostly widely spaced, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric, to 2 cm broad; leafy bracts subulate, exceeding proximal spikelets, slightly or not exceeding most distal clusters.

spikelet clusters 4–6 or more, equidistant along culm on ascending peduncles, branches capillary, divaricate, clusters loose, diffuse, rounded.

Spikelets

redbrown, narrowly ovoid, (3–)3.5–5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, 3–3.5(–4) mm, apex acute, mostly with cusp or mucro 0.5–1 mm.

light brown, ellipsoid to lanceoloid or ovoid, 2.5–3.5 mm, apex acute;

fertile scales ovate, (1.5–)2–3 mm, apex rounded or acute, midrib forming apiculus.

Flowers

bristles 5–6, from rudimentary to reaching tubercle tip, or (rarely) beyond, antrorsely barbellate.

perianth bristles 6, longest exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.

Fruits

1–3 per spikelet, (1.5–)2–2.2(–2.5) mm;

body dark brown with pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid to ± orbicular, (1.3–)1.5–1.7(–1.9) × 1–1.5 mm, margins pale, narrow or narrowly rounded, flowing to tubercle;

surfaces dull, minutely longitudinally striate;

tubercle compressed, triangular to triangularsubulate, 0.5–0.7(–0.9) mm.

2–several per spikelet, 1.3–1.5 mm;

body pale brown, broadly obovoid, tumidly biconvex, 1.1–1.2 × 1–1.1 mm;

surfaces transversely sharply wavyrugulose, intervals with vertical, rectangular, shallow alveolae;

tubercle depressedconic, slightly compressed, 0.2–0.3(–0.4) mm, edges setulose.

Rhynchospora fascicularis

Rhynchospora miliacea

Phenology Fruiting late spring–fall or all year (south). Fruiting summer–fall.
Habitat Sands and peats of interdunal swales, depressions in savannas, open flatwoods, and seep-bog edges Sandy alluvium of swamp forests and gallery forests, low clearings forests
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft) 0–400 m (0–1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA; Central America; Bermuda
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA; West Indies
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In her revision, S. Gale (1944) treated var. distans as the more slender version of the species, one with a smaller inflorescence, more distinctly margined fruit body, and consistently elongate perianth bristles. All those character states appear to vary independently over the total range of the species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

The ultimate branches in Rhynchospora miliacea typically terminate in only one or two spikelets, the scales of which fall quickly, and the exposed fruits look like short miniature strings of beads.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 23, p. 239. FNA vol. 23, p. 226.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora
Sibling taxa
R. alba, R. baldwinii, R. brachychaeta, R. breviseta, R. caduca, R. californica, R. capillacea, R. capitellata, R. careyana, R. cephalantha, R. chalarocephala, R. chapmanii, R. ciliaris, R. colorata, R. compressa, R. corniculata, R. crinipes, R. curtissii, R. debilis, R. decurrens, R. divergens, R. elliottii, R. eximia, R. fernaldii, R. filifolia, R. floridensis, R. fusca, R. globularis, R. glomerata, R. gracilenta, R. grayi, R. harperi, R. harveyi, R. indianolensis, R. inexpansa, R. inundata, R. knieskernii, R. kunthii, R. latifolia, R. macra, R. macrostachya, R. megalocarpa, R. megaplumosa, R. microcarpa, R. microcephala, R. miliacea, R. mixta, R. nitens, R. nivea, R. odorata, R. oligantha, R. pallida, R. perplexa, R. pineticola, R. pleiantha, R. plumosa, R. punctata, R. pusilla, R. rariflora, R. recognita, R. scirpoides, R. solitaria, R. stenophylla, R. thornei, R. torreyana, R. tracyi, R. wrightiana
R. alba, R. baldwinii, R. brachychaeta, R. breviseta, R. caduca, R. californica, R. capillacea, R. capitellata, R. careyana, R. cephalantha, R. chalarocephala, R. chapmanii, R. ciliaris, R. colorata, R. compressa, R. corniculata, R. crinipes, R. curtissii, R. debilis, R. decurrens, R. divergens, R. elliottii, R. eximia, R. fascicularis, R. fernaldii, R. filifolia, R. floridensis, R. fusca, R. globularis, R. glomerata, R. gracilenta, R. grayi, R. harperi, R. harveyi, R. indianolensis, R. inexpansa, R. inundata, R. knieskernii, R. kunthii, R. latifolia, R. macra, R. macrostachya, R. megalocarpa, R. megaplumosa, R. microcarpa, R. microcephala, R. mixta, R. nitens, R. nivea, R. odorata, R. oligantha, R. pallida, R. perplexa, R. pineticola, R. pleiantha, R. plumosa, R. punctata, R. pusilla, R. rariflora, R. recognita, R. scirpoides, R. solitaria, R. stenophylla, R. thornei, R. torreyana, R. tracyi, R. wrightiana
Synonyms Schoenus fascicularis, Dichromena distans, Phaeocephalum fasciculare, Phaeocephalum distans, R. distans, R. distans var. fascicularis, R. dommucensis, R. fascicularis var. distans, Schoenus distans Schoenus miliaceus, Phaeocephalum miliaceum, R. sparsa, Schoenus sparsus
Name authority (Michaux) Vahl: Enum. Pl. 2: 234. (1805) (Lamarck) A. Gray: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 3: 198. (1835)
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