Flora of the Southeastern United States

Rhynchospora perplexa Britton. Common name: Pineland Beaksedge. Phenology: Jul-Sep. Habitat: Seasonally or intermittently ponded depression wetlands. Distribution: E. North Carolina south to ne. Florida, Florida Panhandle, and west to Texas, and north in the interior to ec. Tennessee; West Indies.

ID notes: The habitat for Rhynchospora perplexa is a helpful clue: it is found characteristically in seasonally or intermittently ponded depressions, rather than in seepage slopes or seepage ecotones. R. filifolia often occurs with it and is similar; that species has tight spikelet clusters (vs. spread out with branches evident in R. perplexa). R. microcarpa sometimes shares the same habitats but its seeds are bi-convex (vs. both sides flat).

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: Var. virginiana Fernald was alleged to be endemic to se. VA and to differ in several characters, including larger spikelets (2.5-3.0 mm long vs. 2.0-2.5), the achene tubercles broadly rounded at the tip (rather than deltoid and acute); after study, we do not find these characters to be consistent or to warrant taxonomic recognition.

Synonymy ⓘ: = C, ETx1, FNA23, G, GW1, K1, K4, POWO, RAB, Tn, Tx, Va, WH3, Bridges & Orzell (2023) in Weakley et al (2023), Gale (1944), McMillan (2007); = Rynchospora perplexa — S, S13, orthographic variant of genus name; < Rhynchospora microcarpa Baldwin ex A.Gray — Bah; > Rhynchospora perplexa Britton var. perplexa — F, NS; > Rhynchospora perplexa Britton var. virginiana Fernald — F, NS. Basionym: Rhynchospora perplexa Britton 1903

Links to other floras: = Rhynchospora perplexa - FNA23

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW
• Great Plains: OBL

Heliophily ⓘ: 8