Rhynchospora gracilenta
Rhynchospora elliottii
slender beaksedge
Elliott's beaksedge
mostly lax, ascending to leaningexcurved, leafy, linear to filiform, terete.
erect with arching tops, leafy, obscurely trigonous, slender.
shorter than culm;
blades ascending, filiform to narrowly linear, proximally flat, 0.5–1.5(–2.5) mm wide, margins distally strongly involute, apex trigonous, tapering.
overtopped by inflorescence;
blades linear, proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.
spikelet clusters 1–3(–4), proximalmost distant, dense to sparse, narrowly turbinate to hemispheric;
peduncles and branches ascending; leafy bracts linearsetaceous, mostly overtopping clusters.
spikelet clusters mostly 4–6, various in shape and crowding, narrowly to broadly turbinate;
peduncles erect, branches slender, ascending; leafy bracts exceeding all but most distal clusters.
redbrown, ovoid to lanceoloid, (3.5–)4–5 mm, apex acute;
fertile scales ovate, 3–4.5 mm, apex acute, mucronate to awnedcuspidate.
redbrown, broadly ellipsoid, (1.5–)2–3(–3.5) mm, apex acute;
fertile scales broadly ovate, 2–3 mm, midrib excurrent as apiculus or awn.
bristles 6, mostly reaching tip of tubercle or beyond, antrorsely barbellate.
perianth bristles 6, mostly spreading, usually exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.
1–3 per spikelet, (2.5–)3–3.5(–4.1) mm;
body dark brown with small pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid to suborbicular, 1.3–2.1 × 1.3–1.5 mm, smooth, margins narrow, flowing into tubercle;
tubercle triangular-subulate, compressed, mostly 1.5–2 mm.
2–3(–4) per spikelet, 1.5(–1.7) mm;
body pale brown to brown, strongly flattened, obovoidorbicular, 1–1.2 × 0.8–1.1;
surfaces transversely wavyrugose, intervals vertically striate with very narrowly rectangular alveolae;
tubercle flat, triangular or concavely triangular, 0.3–0.5(–0.7) mm.
Rhynchospora gracilenta
Rhynchospora elliottii
Through the southern coastal plain are widerleaved examples of Rhynchospora gracilenta that are sparingly cespitose to solitary-stemmed, often with but a single terminal inflorescence with dense clusters of spikelets (var. diversifolia). That would be a tenable designation were it not for the large numbers of populations with intermediate habit.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Rhynchospora elliottii is most likely to be confused in the field with its frequent associates R. microcarpa and R. perplexa. Most of the time it can be distinguished from both by its taller, coarser, broader-leaved habit and by its distinctly redder spikelets. Inspection of the fruit reveals the spreading character of the perianth bristles, these usually a length level with the tubercle tip or longer and giving the whole structure the appearance of an unengorged tick.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
LA Plants
MD Biodiversity
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
