Rhynchospora fernaldii |
Rhynchospora mixta |
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Fernald's beaksedge |
mingled beaksedge |
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Habit | Plants perennial, cespitose, 15–50 cm; rhizomes absent. | Plants perennial, cespitose, 80–100 cm; rhizomes stoloniferous, often elongate, slender, to 1 dm or more. |
Culms | erect or ascending, slender, leafy proximal to middle, somewhat stiff. |
|
Leaves | overtopped by culm; blades ascending, ± filiform, proximally flat or slightly concave, to 1 mm wide, apex narrowing, trigonous, abruptly blunt. |
exceeded by culm; blades lax, linear, proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex abruptly narrowed, trigonous, subulate. |
Inflorescences | spikelet clusters 1–2, if 2 then close together, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric or even globose; primary leafy bract setaceous, exceeding clusters. |
spikelet clusters 4–6, mostly widely spaced; peduncles erect or ascending, slender; branches capillary, divaricate, or widely spreading, to small clusters of 1–few spikelets; leafy bracts mostly exceeding clusters. |
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. |
lanceovoid, 3–4(–6) mm, apex acute to acuminate; fertile scales elliptic, 2.5 mm, apex acute, midrib forming mucro or awn. |
Flowers | bristles 6, some reaching to apex of fruit body. |
perianth bristles 6, overtopping tubercle, 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. |
mostly 2–4(–several) per spikelet, (1.5–)1.8–2(–2.1); body greenish or pale brown, broadly ellipsoid to narrowly obovoid, lenticular, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm; surfaces transversely finely wavy-rugulose, intervals vertically striatealveolate, or alveolae isodiametric; tubercle flat, triangular-subulate, 0.5–0.6(–0.8) mm. |
Rhynchospora fernaldii |
Rhynchospora mixta |
|
Phenology | Fruiting summer–fall. | Fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Sands and peats of low clearings in flatwoods, savannas, and bog edges | Sandy silts of swamp forests and environs |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; MS |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
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Discussion | Some extremes of Rhynchospora caduca with more diffuse inflorescences are mistaken for R. mixta, particularly those in which ultimate inflorescence branches lead to solitary spikelets. In those rare instances one should find a somewhat larger spikelet and a broader fruit than is typical for R. mixta. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 235. | FNA vol. 23, p. 224. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. fernaldii | Phaeocephalum proliferum, R. prolifera |
Name authority | Gale: Rhodora 46: 182, plate 825, figs. 3A, B. (1944) | Britton: in J. K. Small, Fl. S.E. U.S., 197, 1328. (1903) |
Web links |