Rhynchospora harveyi
Rhynchospora elliottii
Harvey's beaksedge
Elliott's beaksedge
erect to excurved, leafy, obscurely trigonous, slender.
erect with arching tops, leafy, obscurely trigonous, slender.
spreading to ascending, shorter than culm, crowded toward culm base;
blades linear, proximally flat, 1–3 mm wide, gradually involute, apically trigonous, subulate.
overtopped by inflorescence;
blades linear, proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.
spikelet clusters 1–4, dense to open, mostly irregularly turbinate;
peduncles ascending, branches spreading to erect, ultimate branches with many spikelets; leafy bracts setaceoustipped, usually exceeding all clusters, or at least all but the distal.
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.
light redbrown or brown, broadly ellipsoid to lanceoloid, 3–4 mm, apex acute to acuminate;
fertile scales ovate to obovate or suborbiculate, 2–3.5 mm apex acute to rounded or emarginate, midrib included or exserted as mucro.
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.
perianth bristles mostly 6, rarely reaching fruit midbody, antrorsely barbellate.
perianth bristles 6, mostly spreading, usually exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.
mostly 1 per spikelet, 2–2.5 mm, body dark brown, obovoid to subglobose, tumid or lenticular, 1.5–1.7 mm, transversely finely rugose to nearly level, intervals with very small, pitlike alveoli.
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 harveyi
Rhynchospora elliottii
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(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.)
1. Fruit body broadly obovoid to suborbicular, medially with mostly isodiametric tiny alveoli or pits, or minutely raised reticulate in an almost honeycomb pattern of alveolae, or simply evenly finely cancellate; ultimate spikelet complexes with clusters on stiffish branchlets, usually dense and exceeded at least by subulate tips of subtending leafy bract and bractlets. | var. harveyi |
1. Fruit body obovoid, lenticular, medially with oblong or roundish pitlike alveoli, intervals between contiguous transverse rows forming shallow, broad, pale, smooth ridges; ultimate spikelet clusters more sparse, on more slender, lax, erect to excurved branches and exceeding subtending bracts and bractlets. | var. culixa |
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