Flora of the Southeastern United States

Rhynchospora nitens (Vahl) A. Gray. Common name: Short-beaked Beaksedge. Phenology: Jul-Aug. Habitat: Wet pine savannas, limesink (doline) ponds, ditches, disturbed wet areas, often weedy. Distribution: Primarily a Coastal Plain endemic: MA south to s. FL and west to se. TX; lowlands around the Great Lakes (sw. MI, ne. IN); West Indies; Belize, Nicaragua.

ID notes: This species, R. scirpoides, and R. eximia are rather short beaksedges, no more than 6 dm tall and often only about 3 dm. They have rather few but long leaves. The elongate inflorescences may occupy half or more of the plant height. Rhynchospora nitens and R. eximia have achenes with very short beaks (vs. achenes with beaks 2/3 or more as long as the achene body in R. scirpoides); see Rhynchospora Key F.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = C, ETx1, FNA23, K4, Mi, NcTx, NE, NS, NY, POWO, Va, WH3, McMillan (2007); = Psilocarya nitens (Vahl) Wood — F, G, GW1, RAB, S, S13, Tat, Tx; < Rhynchospora nitens var. nitens — NSProv; Scirpus nitens Vahl. Basionym: Scirpus nitens Vahl 1805

Links to other floras: = Rhynchospora nitens - FNA23

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
• Great Plains: OBL
• Midwest: OBL
• Northcentral & Northeast: OBL

Heliophily ⓘ: 9