Rhynchospora tracyi Britton. Tracy's Beaksedge. Phen: Jun-Sep. Hab: Pondcypress savannas and graminoid-dominated depressions, in small, clay-based Carolina bays, Coastal Plain natural lakes, or shallow limesink ponds (dolines), typically in shallow water or at the lower margins of pond-shores; in s. FL often a monospecific dominant in marl prairies and marshes. Dist: S. NC south to s. FL, west to s. MS (Sorrie & Leonard 1999); disjunct in sw. LA and e. TX; Bahamas; West Indies (Cuba, Hispaniola); Central America (Belize).

ID notes:Rhynchospora tracyi is a very distinctive beaksedge, tall (6-15 dm high), slender, forming colonies via runners in seasonally flooded habitats. It is unique in its 1-2 (rarely as many as 4) spherical heads at the stem tips, and achenes with an abrupt slender beak 4-5 mm long.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy: = Bah, ETx1, FNA23, GW1, K1, K3, K4, RAB, WH3, WI, McMillan (2007); Ceratoschoenus capitatus Chapm.; = Rynchospora tracyi – S, S13

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus

Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL

Heliophily: 9