Scleria ciliata Michaux var. ciliata . Hairy Nutrush. Phen: May-Aug. Hab: Wet to dry sandy thickets and pine flatwoods, typically on sandy soil. Dist: VA south to FL, west to MO and TX; West Indies; Mexico and Central America.

ID notes:As with most other nutrushes, the stems of Scleria ciliata var. 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: = Ar, ETx1, FNA23, GrPl, S, Va, WI, Fairey (1967), LeBlond, Tessel, & Poindexter (2015); = Scleria ciliata Michx.; < Scleria ciliata Michx. – C, F, G, GW1, K3, K4, Mex, Mo1, NcTx, RAB, Tn, Tx, W, WH3; < Scleria ciliata Michx. var. ciliata – K1

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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