Rhynchospora harperi
Rhynchospora capitellata
Harper's beaksedge
brownish beak-rush, brownish beaksedge, capitate beak rush, rhynchospore à petites têtes
erect to excurved, leafybased, narrowly linear, ± terete.
arching-ascending, leafy, obtusely trigonous, slender;
principal leaves overtopped by inflorescence;
blades flat, to 3 mm, apex tapering, trigonous.
shorter than culm;
blades ascending, narrowly linear, proximally flat or margins slightly involute, 0.5–1(–2) mm wide, distally canaliculate, apex trigonous, tapering, subulate.
spikelet clusters 1–3, laterals 0–2, all turbinate to hemispheric, terminal internode usually excurved; leafy bracts setaceous, overtopping inflorescence.
terminal and axillary, clusters 1–5 or more, compact, turbinate or hemispheric, 1–1.5 cm wide;
peduncles progressively shorter distally on culm;
bracteal leaves mostly exceeding subtended compounds.
redbrown, lanceoloid, 5–7 mm, apex acute;
fertile scales lanceolate, (2.5–)4–5 mm, apex acute to acuminate;
midrib paralleled by several indistinct ribs, excurrent as short awns.
rich deep brown, rarely pale brown, lanceellipsoid, 3.5–4(–5) mm;
fertile scale elliptic, 2.7–3 mm, apex acute or rounded, midrib shortexcurrent or not.
bristles 6, reaching from mid tubercle to beyond tip.
perianth absent.
3(–4) per spikelet, 2.1–2.5 mm;
stipe and receptacle 0.2–0.3 mm, sparsely setose and setulose;
body glossy, brown with pale center, obovoid-lenticular, 1.1–1.5 × 1–1.1 mm, surfaces finely longitudinally lined, variably low papillatecancellate, also often transversely with wavy lines of dark dots;
tubercle flattened, triangular-subulate, (0.8–)0.9–1(–1.1) mm, setulose-ciliate.
(1–)2–3(–5) per spikelet, (2–)2.5–3 mm;
body redbrown with pale central disc, stipitate, lenticular, obovoid, 1.2–1.5 × 0.7–1(–1.2) mm, margins pale, wirelike, surfaces slick;
tubercle triangular-subulate, (0.8–)1–1.2(–1.6) mm.
Rhynchospora harperi
Rhynchospora capitellata
Rhynchospora harperi is most abundant in a very special habitat referred to here as the “Hypericum pond.” These are typically shallow ponds in pine savannas, frequently ringed by stands of Nyssa, Taxodium, Ilex, and Cyrilla, but most of the pond itself is dominated by one or more myriandrous shrubby Hypericum species. Here R. harperi is distinguished from other species by the often abrupt bend of its ultimate internode.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Rhynchospora capitellata occurs infrequently in the lower Gulf coastal plain (in Florida, only north) and intergrades with R. glomerata. Forms with antrorsely barbellate bristles are referred to forma controversa (S. F. Blake) Gale; those with smooth bristles are named forma discutiens (C. B. Clarke) Gale (S. Gale 1944). Occasional forms with trigonous fruits occur.
Bruce Sorrie (pers. comm.) believes that many of the southern coastal plain records for Rhynchospora capitellata are based on examples of a neglected taxon, R. leptocarpa (Chapman) Small (J. K. Small 1933), and he wishes to reinstate it. Occurring in semi-shady moist sites in steepheads, or from seeps and shallows along blackwater streams, the plants are mostly distinguished by the tall, lax habit; the many distant, small clusters of light brown or tan spikelets; and the softer, more lax foliage. Measures of spikelets, fertile scales, perianth, achenes, and fruit tubercles show a strong overlap with those of southern examples of R. capitellata. The long, lax culm habit, the softer and paler foliage, and the paler spikelets could well be ecologic responses, or the plants could indeed represent a geographic variant.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
CA, 
OR - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
