Scleria ciliata Michaux. Common name: Hairy Nutrush. Phenology: May-Aug. Habitat: Wet to dry sandy thickets and pine flatwoods, typically on sandy soil. Distribution: VA south to FL, west to MO and TX; West Indies; Mexico and Central America; s. South America

ID notes: As with most other nutrushes, the stems of Scleria ciliata grow in a tight row from a tough horizontal rhizome. The stems reach 3-6 dm tall; they and the leaves are smooth to minutely hairy and may be short-ciliate on the margins. Small clusters of spikelets grow terminally and from the leaf axils. It is much like S. elliottii, but that plant has wider leaves, and the leaves and stem are densely covered with ciliate hairs. See also S. bellii.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = C, F, G, GW1, Mex, Mo1, NcTx, POWO, RAB, Tn, W, WH3; = Scleria brittonii Core ex Small — K4; = Scleria ciliata Michx. var. ciliata — Ar; > Scleria brittonii Core ex Small — S, Tx; > Scleria ciliata Michx. — Tx; > Scleria ciliata Michx. — Fairey (1967), Kessler (1987); > Scleria ciliata Michx. var. ciliata — ETx1, FNA23, GrPl, NS, S, Va, WI, Fairey (1967), LeBlond, Tessel, & Poindexter (2015); > Scleria ciliata Michx. var. glabra (Chapm.) Fairey — ETx1, FNA23, NS, Fairey (1967), Kessler (1987); > Scleria glabra Chapm. — S13; > Scleria pauciflora Muhl. ex Willd. var. curtissii (Britton) Fairey — NS; Scleria ciliata Michx. Basionym: Scleria ciliata Michx. 1803

Links to other floras: > Scleria ciliata var. ciliata - FNA23; > Scleria ciliata var. glabra - FNA23

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Great Plains: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Midwest: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)

Heliophily ⓘ: 8