Scleria muehlenbergii Steudel. Pitted Nutrush. Phen: Jun-Sep. Hab: Open wet sand, pine savannas and flatwoods, depression meadows, cypress savannas, limesink ponds, bogs. Dist: NY (Long Island), NJ, and NC south to FL, west to TX, north in the interior to MO and IN; West Indies and Bahamas (Sorrie & LeBlond 1997); Mexico and Central America.

ID notes:Scleria muehlenbergii is an annual and lacks tough horizontal rhizomes as in other nutrushes. The tufted stems grow 2-9 dm tall. It is very similar to S. reticularis, but the lowermost spikelet cluster (about 1/3 the distance up the stem) is on a slender stalk that arches out and droops (vs. on a short erect stalk or none). The seeds are distinctly short-hairy (vs. hairless in S. reticularis). Also note the habitat differences; the other species occurs in natural ponded habitats such as limesinks and clay-based Carolina bays. In normal specimens, the achene reticulation ridges are sharp-edged and steeply sloped (compare S. reticularis). The achene pubescence is often tawny, and achenes appearing superficially glabrous often have a tawny residue under magnification.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy: = Ar, ETx1, FNA23, Il, K1, K3, K4, NY, Tn, Va; = Scleria muhlenbergii Steud. – F, Tat, Tx, orthographic variant; = Scleria reticularis Michx. var. pubescens Britton – G, Mo1, Fairey (1967); = Scleria setacea Poir. – S; > Scleria hemitaphra Steud. – S13; < Scleria muhlenbergii Steud. – Pa; < Scleria reticularis Michx. – Bah, C, GW1, Mex, RAB, W, WH3; > Scleria torreyana Walp. – S13; > Scleria trichopoda C.Wright – S13

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FAC
• Great Plains: OBL
• Midwest: FAC
• Northcentral & Northeast: FACW

Heliophily: 8