Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Capillary Hairsedge - Bulbostylis ciliatifolia   (Elliott) Fernald
Members of Cyperaceae:
Members of Bulbostylis with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 5 » Order Cyperales » Family Cyperaceae
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Author(Elliott) Fernald
DistributionCoastal Plain and Sandhills, but rare in the northeastern quadrant of the state; rare in the lower Piedmont and disjunct to sandy shores of the French Broad River in Madison County.

Southeastern VA to southern FL and AL.
AbundanceFrequent to locally common in the southern half of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills; very rare in the low Mountains, southeastern Piedmont, and northern Coastal Plain.
HabitatDry to mesic, even seasonally wet, soil of pine-oak sandhills, pine savannas, pine-oak ridges, roadsides, sandpits, old fields, margins of Carolina bays and intermittent ponds.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting July-October.
IdentificationThis species is very similar to B. coarctata (some authors lump them), but stems are shorter, seeds are larger (0.8-0.9 mm long vs. 0.6-0.7 mm), and it inhabits less xeric soils; that species is usually found in dry sandhills.
Taxonomic CommentsFormerly included B. coarctata as a variety.

Hairsedges, genus Bulbostylis, are small tufted plants with skinny culms (flowering stems) and leaves; so skinny as to appear wiry or threadlike. The inflorescence is branched and open, or compact. Each spikelet is composed of several to many tiny florets. Key ID features to note include size and ornamentation of seeds and whether plants are annual or perennial.
Other Common Name(s)Savanna Hairsedge
State RankS3 [S4]
Global RankG5
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B.A. SorrieSandhills Game Land, Aug 2014. RichmondPhoto_natural
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