Rhynchospora wrightiana |
Rhynchospora torreyana |
|
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Wright's beaksedge |
Torrey's beaksedge |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, cespitose, 10–50 cm; rhizomes absent. | Plants perennial, cespitose, 50–100 cm; rhizomes absent. |
Culms | slender, ± filiform, leafy, terete to bluntly trigonous. |
ascending-excurved, leafy, ± terete, slender. |
Leaves | shorter than culm; blades spreading to ascending, ± filiform, proximally flat, 0.5–1(–1.5) mm, apex tapering, trigonous. |
ascending, overtopped by culm; blades narrowly linear, proximally flat, 2–3 mm wide, apex trigonous, tapering. |
Inflorescences | spikelet clusters 1–3, loose to dense, widely spaced to close together, turbinate to hemispheric; leafy bracts setaceous, mostly exceeding spikelet clusters. |
spikelet clusters (1–)2–3, widely spaced, open to dense, broadly to narrowly turbinate, branches ascending to slightly spreading, capillary; leafy bracts setaceous-tipped, overtopping all but distal clusters. |
Spikelets | dark redbrown, lanceovoid, 2.5–3.5(–4) mm, apex acute; fertile scales ovate, 2–3.5 mm, apex acute or acuminate, rarely minutely awned. |
light red-brown, ovoid, 3.5–5 mm, apex acuminate; fertile scales ovate, 2.5–3.5 mm, apex acute, midrib excurrent as cusp or mucro. |
Flowers | bristles 6, of various length, mostly extending from fruit midbody to tubercle base, antrorsely barbellate. |
perianth bristles 6, reaching at most 2/3 length of fruit body, antrorsely barbellate. |
Fruits | 1–2 per spikelet, (2–)2–2.5 mm; body brown with pale center, lenticular, broadly ellipsoid, 1.5–1.7 × 1.2–1.3 mm, surfaces nearly smooth or very finely cancellate; tubercle flat, triangular with short-oblong, blunttipped nose, or triangularsubulate, 0.5–0.8 mm. |
1–4(–5) per spikelet, 2 mm; body brown, strongly compressed, obovoid-ellipsoid, 1.4–1.6 × 1–1.2 mm, margins flowing to tubercle; surfaces finely transversely rugose, intervals with narrow vertical alveolae; tubercle flat, low-triangular, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) mm. |
Rhynchospora wrightiana |
Rhynchospora torreyana |
|
Phenology | Fruiting late spring–fall or all year (south). | Fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Sands and peats in flatwoods, pine savannas, pond and stream banks, bogs, and seeps | Sands and peats of low meadows, savannas, flatwoods, pond shores, ditch banks |
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC; VA; Central America; West Indies
|
AL; CT; DE; FL; GA; MA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; RI; SC; VA |
Discussion | The morphologic boundary between Rhynchospora wrightiana and R. fascicularis (particularly morphs of R. fascicularis referred to R. fascicularis var. distans) is difficult, as recent annotations of the material testify. It is best to consider R. wrightiana as a lower, distinctly filiformleaved entity with darker brown, shorter spikelets and shorter fruit. Kükenthal’s concept of R. wrightiana appears to include a considerable amount of R. fascicularis var. distans. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 236. | FNA vol. 23, p. 224. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora | Cyperaceae > Rhynchospora |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. gracillima, R. distans var. gracillima, R. distans var. tenuis | Phaeocephalum torreyanum |
Name authority | Boeckeler: Flora 64: 78. (1881) | A. Gray: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 3: 197. (1835) |
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