Rhynchospora drummondiana Steud.
Rhynchospora stellata (Lam.) Griseb.
Schoenus coloratus L.
Rhynchospora colorata (L.) H. Pfeiffer
Starrush whitetop, narrowleaf whitetop sedge, star sedge, white beak-sedge, whitetop sedge
This perennial sedge is a North American native.
Plants: Grasslike clumps or solitary plants. Each is topped with 3-10 specialized green and white leaves make this species dramatic, and easily identified. The single showy “white flower” isn’t a flower it all, but rather specialized leaves (bracts), each up to 5 ⨉ 1/16–¼″ (13 cm ⨉ 2–7 mm). Like many sedges, stems are triangular in cross section.
Leaves: Grasslike, linear, arising from the base of the plant in clusters, spreading or erect, 1/32–⅛″ (0.5–3 mm) wide.
Flowers: A dense cluster of small spikelets ⅛–¼″ (5–7 mm) long, nestled amidst the bracts. Each spikelet is white, ovoid, and contains several tiny flowers. They appear in June and July.
Fruits: Spikelets mature to a yellow to mahogony color. Each spikelet contains several fruits, each 1/32–1/16″ (1.5–1.7 mm) in size. Fruits appear in late spring to summer.
Habitats: Wet coastal areas, dunes, flatwoods, wet prairies, swales and roadside ditches.
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Similar species. |
Online References:
Dichromena colorata (L.) Hitchc.
Rhynchospora drummondiana Steud.
Rhynchospora stellata (Lam.) Griseb.
Schoenus coloratus L.
Rhynchospora drummondiana Steud.
Rhynchospora stellata (Lam.) Griseb.
Schoenus coloratus L.
4/14/2015 · Long Pine Key, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (14 × 11 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Commelinidae | Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others |
| Order | Cyperales | Flowering plants including grasses |
| Family | Cyperaceae | Sedge family |
| Genus | Rhynchospora | From the Greek rhynchos, “horn, beak, snout,” and spora or sporos, “seed, spore,” thus “beaked seed” |
| Species | colorata |
Rhynchospora colorata description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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