Rhynchospora fernaldii |
Rhynchospora eximia |
|
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Fernald's beaksedge |
Florida beaksedge |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, cespitose, 15–50 cm; rhizomes absent. | Plants perennial or annual, single or cespitose, (10–)20–50 cm; rhizomes absent. |
Culms | erect or ascending, slender, leafy proximal to middle, somewhat stiff. |
spreading to erect, leafy, obtusely triangular. |
Leaves | overtopped by culm; blades ascending, ± filiform, proximally flat or slightly concave, to 1 mm wide, apex narrowing, trigonous, abruptly blunt. |
often exceeding inflorescences; blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 1–3 mm wide, apex trigonous, tapering. |
Inflorescences | spikelet clusters 1–2, if 2 then close together, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric or even globose; primary leafy bract setaceous, exceeding clusters. |
terminal and axillary, clusters of 1–5 corymbs; leafy bracts much exceeding corymbs. |
Spikelets | redbrown, ovoid, 2–2.5(–4) mm, apex acute; fertile scales broadly ovate, 1.5–1.9(–2) mm, apex acute to acuminate, midrib excurrent as awn to 0.5 mm. |
few to several, on ascending, stiff, short-to-elongate branches, red-brown to brown, lanceoloid, (5–)6–10 mm, apex acuminate; fertile scales many, ovate, shallowly convex, 5 mm, apex acuminate; midrib short-excurrent or not. |
Flowers | bristles 6, some reaching to apex of fruit body. |
perianth absent. |
Fruits | 2–3 per spikelet, 1–1.2(–1.4) mm; body dull dark brown with paler brown center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 1 × 0.8 mm, margins narrow, flowing to tubercle; tubercle nearly equilaterally triangular, 0.2–0.3 mm. |
1.5 mm; body dark brown to black, tumidly lenticular, nearly orbicular, 0.8–0.9 × 0.6–0.7 mm, margins grooved, discontinuous with tubercle; surfaces transversely wavyrugose, ridges of contiguous rows of vertical, linear, raised cells; tubercle broad, low triangular, 0.2–0.3 mm, crustaceous, base capping fruit summit, raised at ends, apex shortacuminate. |
Rhynchospora fernaldii |
Rhynchospora eximia |
|
Phenology | Fruiting summer–fall. | Fruiting all year. |
Habitat | Sands and peats of low clearings in flatwoods, savannas, and bog edges | Moist to wet sandy peaty swales, pond shores, depressions in savannas, moist waste areas |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | 0–100[–1000] m (0–300[–3300] ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; MS |
FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Africa |
Discussion | Rhynchospora eximia is often found at elevations from near sea level to over 1000 m in the tropics. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 235. | FNA vol. 23, p. 216. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. fernaldii | Spermodon eximius, Psilocarya schiedeana, R. oxycephala, R. psilocaroides |
Name authority | Gale: Rhodora 46: 182, plate 825, figs. 3A, B. (1944) | (Nees) Boeckeler: Linnaea 37: 601. (1873) |
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