Rhynchospora harperi
Rhynchospora microcarpa
Harper's beaksedge
southern beaksedge
erect to excurved, leafybased, narrowly linear, ± terete.
erect to ascending, arching, lax, leafy, slender, 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.
exceeded by inflorescence;
blades ascending to spreading, linear, proximally flat, 1–2(–3) mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.
spikelet clusters 1–3, laterals 0–2, all turbinate to hemispheric, terminal internode usually excurved; leafy bracts setaceous, overtopping inflorescence.
spikelet clusters 4–6, mostly dense, widely spaced, narrowly turbinate to ellipsoid;
peduncles erect to ascending, branches ascending; leafy bracts exceeding proximal clusters.
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.
dark brown, ovoid, 2–3 mm, apex acute;
fertile scales broadly ovate to ± orbiculate, cupulate, 1.5–2 mm, apex rounded to acute, midrib included or excurrent as bristle.
bristles 6, reaching from mid tubercle to beyond tip.
perianth bristles 6, from vestigial to (rarely) reaching tubercle tip, antrorsely barbellate.
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.
2–3 per spikelet, 1.2–1.5 mm;
body brown, obovoid to globose, lenticular, 1–1.2 × 0.8–1 mm, margins narrow, distinct;
surfaces sharply transversely wavyrugose, intervals with rows of vertical, broadly rectangular or ± isodiametric alveolae;
tubercle lowtriangular or triangular, compressed, 0.2–0.3 mm, base lunate.
Rhynchospora harperi
Rhynchospora microcarpa
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.)
Through much of the range of Rhynchospora microcarpa, particularly in limesink or claybased pond areas, is a somewhat shorter series of plants with narrow leaves, tumid fruit 0.7–0.9 mm, often with isodiametric alveolae and depressedtriangular tubercles. Described by S. Gale as R. sulcata, the plants grade into the more typical morphology for R. microcarpa. In peninsular Florida, apparent intergradation with R. elliottii produces some individuals with broad leaves and triangularsubulate tubercles on nearly flat fruits.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
MD Biodiversity
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
LA Plants
