| Author | Kral | |
| Distribution | Southern outer Coastal Plain only. Known only from Brunswick, Onslow, and Pender counties.
Mostly Coastal Plain, NC to northern FL and southern AL; inland in AL and GA. | |
| Abundance | Very rare in the state, but within its narrow habitat requirements, it can be locally numerous. The NCNHP database lists 15 records, all extant, and many in good or excellent condition. Plants may sometimes form a dense turf with dozens of culms and associated leaves. This is a State Special Concern species. | |
| Habitat | Savannas, roadsides, and clearings, all underlain by limestone or marl. Most of these conditions and sites reside in northeastern Pender and adjacent western Onslow counties, and in far western Brunswick County. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late June-August. | |
| Identification | This species is a short (less than 10 inches tall), slender, tufted beaksedge that may form "turfy" patches. It resembles R. divergens and R. pusilla, and may grow with them, but it differs in possessing seed bristles. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | This species is not in RAB (1968), as it was later described as a new species by T. Kral.
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) | None | |
| State Rank | S2 | |
| Global Rank | G3 | |
| State Status | SC-V | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
