Rhynchospora pineticola
Rhynchospora elliottii
pine barren beaksedge
Elliott's beaksedge
erect to ascending, leafy, stiff.
erect with arching tops, leafy, obscurely trigonous, slender.
shorter than scape;
blades narrowly linear, (1–)2–3 mm wide, margins involute, apex trigonous, tapering.
overtopped by inflorescence;
blades linear, proximally flat, 3–5 mm wide, apex trigonous, subulate, tapering.
clusters 1–2, if 2 then close together, dense, broadly turbinate to hemispheric or lobedglobose;
primary leafy bract linear, stiff, exceeding 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.
light to dark redbrown, lanceovoid, 3.5–6 mm, apex acuminate;
fertile scales ovate, convex, 3–3.5(–4) mm, apex acuminate, low midrib excurrent or not.
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 6, reaching at least to tubercle base, plumose from base to more than 1/2 length of fruit body.
perianth bristles 6, mostly spreading, usually exceeding tubercle, antrorsely barbellate.
1(–2) per spikelet, (2–)2.5–2.8(–3) mm;
body redbrown or brown, tumidly obovoid, (1.5–)2–2.2 × 1–1.7 mm;
surfaces interruptedly transversely rugulose;
tubercle broadly conic, 0.5–0.8(–1) mm, base broadly 2lobed, apex often apiculate.
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 pineticola
Rhynchospora elliottii
Rhynchospora pineticola is distinguished from taller extremes of R. plumosa by its thicker leaves and scapes and its longer spikelets and fruit. Its bases are a deep rich red-brown rather than the pale brown or dull deep brown of R. plumosa.
(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.)
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