Rhynchospora fernaldii |
Rhynchospora indianolensis |
|
---|---|---|
Fernald's beaksedge |
indianola beaksedge |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, cespitose, 15–50 cm; rhizomes absent. | Plants perennial, cespitose, to 100 cm; rhizomes absent. |
Culms | erect or ascending, slender, leafy proximal to middle, somewhat stiff. |
stiffly erect or ascending, leafy-based, triangular, multiribbed. |
Leaves | overtopped by culm; blades ascending, ± filiform, proximally flat or slightly concave, to 1 mm wide, apex narrowing, trigonous, abruptly blunt. |
ascending or erect, crowded toward culm base, shorter, more widely spaced distally, longest overtopping or equaling subtended inflorescences; principal blades flat, trigonous distally, 4–6 mm wide, apex attenuate, trigonous. |
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, compounds of fascicles, nearly umbellate; clusters hemispheric to nearly capitate, 1.5–2 cm wide; 1 cluster nearly sessile, others on slender rays to 7 cm, sometimes penultimate node with single cluster on peduncle 7–12 cm. |
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. |
light redbrown, lanceoloid, 6–7 mm, apex acute; fertile scales lance-ovate, 5 mm, apex acute to blunt, midrib shortexcurrent or not. |
Flowers | bristles 6, some reaching to apex of fruit body. |
perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate. |
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 per spikelet, (5.5–)6–7 mm; body obovoid, 3–4 × 2–2.5 mm, margins thick, crimped, surfaces level or concave, minutely pebbled; tubercle narrowly conic, 2grooved, 3–4 mm, base blunt, stout, capping fruit apex, tip barely exserted. |
Rhynchospora fernaldii |
Rhynchospora indianolensis |
|
Phenology | Fruiting summer–fall. | Fruiting early summer–fall. |
Habitat | Sands and peats of low clearings in flatwoods, savannas, and bog edges | Silty shallows of pools, prairie swales, ditches |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; MS |
TX |
Discussion | Rhynchospora indianolensis was considered by G. Kükenthal to be closely related to, if not the same as, the Cuban R. scutellata Grisebach but with fruit of different dimensions and sculpture. W. W. Thomas (1984) believed the two to be conspecific. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 235. | FNA vol. 23, p. 207. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. fernaldii | |
Name authority | Gale: Rhodora 46: 182, plate 825, figs. 3A, B. (1944) | Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 193, 1327. (1903) |
Web links |