Rhynchospora stenophylla
Rhynchospora harveyi
coastal plain beaksedge
Harvey's beaksedge
lax, leafy toward base, filiform, ± terete.
erect to excurved, leafy, obscurely trigonous, slender.
ascending, exceeded by culm;
blades filiform, to 0.5 mm, margins mostly involute, apex trigonous, tapering.
spreading to ascending, shorter than culm, crowded toward culm base;
blades linear, proximally flat, 1–3 mm wide, gradually involute, apically trigonous, subulate.
mostly lax cymes or clusters of cymes, 1–2, sparse, turbinate, branches capillary; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding proximal cymes, shorter than, equaling or slightly exceeding distal cymes.
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.
redbrown, fusiformlanceoloid, 5 mm, apex acute;
fertile scales lanceolate, 3.5–4.5 mm, apex acute or acuminate, midrib included or shortexcurrent.
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.
perianth bristles 6, exceeding tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate, basally setose.
perianth bristles mostly 6, rarely reaching fruit midbody, antrorsely barbellate.
1 per spikelet, 2.8–3 mm;
body pale brown, obovoidpyriform, tumidly lenticular, 1.5–1 × 1 mm;
surfaces transversely wavyrugose, intervals vertically striate with narrow, raised alveolae;
tubercle flat, narrowly triangular-subulate, (0.8–)1–1.5 mm.
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.
Rhynchospora stenophylla
Rhynchospora harveyi
Rhynchospora stenophylla may occasionally be confused with the closely related R. rariflora but can be distinguished by its taller and wispier habit, its longer spikelets of narrower outline, and the distinctly longer fruit tubercle. Both species are usually found on wet substrates; R. stenophylla typically is found in the deepest bogs and sphagnous seeps.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(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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