The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus Carex with over 2,000 species.
Flatwoods, pineywoods, pine savannas and longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem are terms that refer to an ecological community in the southeastern coastal plain of North America. Flatwoods are an ecosystem maintained by wildfire or prescribed fire and are dominated by longleaf pine, and slash pine in the tree canopy and saw palmetto, gallberry and other flammable evergreen shrubs in the understory, along with a high diversity of herb species. It was once one of the dominant ecosystem types of southeastern North America. Although grasses and pines are characteristic of this system, the precise composition changes from west to east, that is, from Texas to Florida. In Louisiana, savannas even differ between the east and west side of the Mississippi River. The key factor maintaining this habitat type is recurring fire. Without fire, the habitat is eventually invaded by other species of woody plants.
Rhynchospora colorata, also known as starrush whitetop, white star sedge and white-topped sedge, is a perennial sedge with white bracts, giving it the appearance of white petals with long, green points. It is native to southeastern North America, from Virginia west to New Mexico in the United States, and south into the Caribbean islands.
Rhynchospora is a genus of about 400 species of sedges with a cosmopolitan distribution. The genus includes both annual and perennial species, mostly with erect 3-sided stems and 3-ranked leaves. The achenes bear a beak-like tubercule and are sometimes subtended by bristles. Many of the species are similar in vegetative appearance, and mature fruits are needed to make a positive identification.
Rhynchospora alba, the white beak-sedge, is a plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a tufted herbaceous perennial around 50 cm tall, with white inflorescences that flower in August. The fruit of the sedge is a small achene with a characteristic beak-like cap. It is dispersed by wind or falls by gravity, leading to individuals existing in tight clumps. The species favours wet, acidic and nutrient poor soils, thriving in Sphagnum-dominated bogs, but also peaty grasslands. As such it is often used as a positive indicator for bog and mire ecosystem health.
The East Gulf coastal plain savanna and wet prairie is a herbaceous wetland community found in the eastern Gulf coastal plain, in the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. It is also known as a "lush grassland", "grass-sedge savannah", or "wet savanna".
Rhynchospora rariflora, commonly called fewflower beaksedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family (Cyperaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in the southeastern United States, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the West Indies. Its typical natural habitat is sandy or peaty areas, in wet savannas, seeps, and bogs.
Rhynchospora caduca, commonly called anglestem beaksedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family (Cyperaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in the southeastern United States. Its typical natural habitat is in low, wet areas, such as in marshes, seeps, tidal swamps, pine savannas, and flatwoods.
Rhynchospora corymbosa, known by the common names of golden beaksedge and matamat, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found globally throughout the tropics. It grows up to 2 meters tall in riverbanks, shallow pools, and swamps.
Rhynchospora rugosa, known by the common name of claybank beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, native to Central and South America.
Rhynchospora holoschoenoides, known by the common name of fly beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America and western and southern Africa.
Rhynchospora cephalotes is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found throughout the tropics of Central and South America, from southern Mexico and western Cuba in the northern extreme to Bahia and Bolivia in the southern extreme.
Rhynchospora globosa, known by the Spanish common name of estrellita de sabana, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found throughout the tropics of Central and South America. The variant R. globosa var. tenuifolia is endemic to Cuba.
Rhynchospora baldwinii, known by the common name of Baldwin's beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is found in riverbanks and swampland near the coasts of the southeastern United States, as far west as New Orleans and as far north as Morehead City in North Carolina.
Rhynchospora careyana, known by the common name of broadfruit horned beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is found in marshy areas near the Gulf coast of the southeastern United States, from western Louisiana to southeastern Georgia.
Rhynchospora chalarocephala, known by the common name of loosehead beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found throughout the southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States, from New Jersey to Texas.
Rhynchospora chapmanii, known by the common name of Chapman's beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found in wetlands of the southeastern United States from North Carolina to Louisiana, as well as in Belize, Cuba, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Rhynchospora berteroi, known by the common name of little beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, native to wetlands in the Caribbean islands and Belize, and also found in the southeastern United States.
Rhynchospora biflora, known by the common name of twoflower beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found in rainforests of the Caribbean, Colombia, and Venezuela, as well as southeastern Brazil.
Rhynchospora chinensis, known by the common name of spiked beaksedge, is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a perennial herb, found in wetlands of Japan, Korea, eastern China, Mainland Southeast Asia, India, Australia, and Madagascar. It was once present in Sri Lanka, where it is now locally extinct. The subspecies R. chinensis subsp. spiciformis is endemic to Hawaii.
