| Author | Chapman ex M.A. Curtis | |
| Distribution | Southern outer Coastal Plain only. Known from just 4 counties in NC.
Southeastern NC to southern FL and southeastern TX; Mex., Belize, Bahamas, Cuba. | |
| Abundance | Rare. The NCNHP database lists 7 records, all extant, and with 5 in good to excellent condition. However, at best the State Rank should be S1S2, and not S2 as ranked by the NCNHP. This is a Significantly Rare species. | |
| Habitat | Moist to wet pine savannas and flatwoods, natural depressions in these habitats, seasonally wet roadsides -- generally over marl. Through most of its range it shows a preference for calcareous soils. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late May-September. | |
| Identification | This species is densely tufted, and the threadlike stems are less than one foot tall. The inflorescence consists of 1-2 branched and loosely-flowered clusters. The seeds are tiny (only 0.6-0.8 mm long), ivory colored, the surfaces smooth -- as opposed to R. pusilla, which has horizontal ridges on the seeds. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
Members of the genus Rhynchospora -- mainly called beaksedges but also called beakrushes -- are mostly Coastal Plain in distribution and are important members of our longleaf pine savannas, flatwoods, streamheads, depression ponds, Carolina bays, and beaver ponds. They vary from small and wiry to large and coarse. Keys concentrate on features of the achenes (seeds) and the shape and arrangement of the flower clusters (spikelets). The seeds may or not have bristles at their base; bristle number, length, and toothing are critical characters. Size and shape of the seed beaks is also critical. The drawings in Godfrey & Wooten (1979) are extremely helpful. The genus now includes Dichromena, the white-topped sedges. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Whiteseed Beaksedge | |
| State Rank | S2 [S1S2] | |
| Global Rank | G4 | |
| State Status | SR-P | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | OBL link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
