Rhynchospora megaplumosa
Rhynchospora microcarpa
manatee beaksedge
southern beaksedge
erect to arching-ascending, leafy, wand-like.
erect to ascending, arching, lax, leafy, slender, trigonous.
mostly basal, few and increasingly distant upculm, shorter than scape;
blades narrowly linear, concave proximally, (1–)2–3 mm wide, tapering and increasingly involute-sulcate proximally, margins scabrid, apex triquetrous, tip narrow but blunt.
exceeded by inflorescence;
blades ascending to spreading, linear, proximally flat, 1–2(–3) mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.
clusters 1(–2), if 2 then close together, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric;
primary leafy bracts linear, stiff, exceeding clusters.
spikelet clusters 4–6, mostly dense, widely spaced, narrowly turbinate to ellipsoid;
peduncles erect to ascending, branches ascending; leafy bracts exceeding proximal clusters.
light brown, narrowly lanceoloid, 8–10 mm, apex acuminate;
fertile scales lanceolate, convex, (6–)7–8 mm, apex narrowly acute, low midrib short-excurrent or not.
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.
perianth bristles 6, excurved, plumose from base to midbristle, 5–7.5 mm, antrorsely barbellate to tip.
perianth bristles 6, from vestigial to (rarely) reaching tubercle tip, antrorsely barbellate.
1–2 per spikelet, 2.3–2.6 × 1.1–1.2 mm;
body brown, short-stipitate, tumidly obovoid, subterete, 1.8–2 mm, margin low, broad;
surfaces interruptedly transversely wavy-rugulose;
tubercle broadly and concavely conic, 0.5–0.7 mm high, base shallowly 2-lobed, discoid, abruptly narrowed to blunt tip.
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 megaplumosa
Rhynchospora microcarpa
Of conservation concern.
Rhynchospora megaplumosa is local in central peninsular Florida. It often shares habitat with R. pineticola, and it is taxonomically nearest it in series Plumosae. Distinctive are the longer, paler, narrower spikelets, the longer fertile scales, and perianth bristles of R. megaplumosa. In fact, the perianth bristles of R. megaplumosa are the longest known in the series. While the bristles of all other Plumosae are erect, hugging the achene body, those of R. megaplumosa bend outward so strongly that they push away subtending scales; bristles are conspicuously exposed at maturity.
(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.)
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