Rhynchospora alba — white beaksedge

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Floral bristle color

  the bristles are pale brown to brown

  Floral bristle number

  8 or more

  Floral bristle relative length

  the bristles are longer than the achene

  Floral bristles

  the bristles are straight or slightly curved

  Floral scale hairs

  there are no hairs on the floral scales

  Floral scale length

  3–4 mm

  Floral scale shape

  the floral scales are elliptic (widest in the middle and tapering toward each end)

  Flower number per cluster

  2-5

  Inflorescence bract angle

  the bracts are angled outwards near horizontal or reflexed downwards

  Inflorescence bract number

  • there are six or more bracts per inflorescence
  • there are two to five bracts per inflorescence
  • there is just one bract on the inflorescence

  Inflorescence bract position (Sparganium)

  NA

  Inflorescence bracts

  there are at least two bracts, and they are either flat or folded or rolled in at the edges

  Inflorescence branching

  the inflorescence is branched

  Inflorescence crowding

  the inflorescence is at least somewhat spread out, with at least one branch coming from the main stem

  Inflorescence position

  • the inflorescence emerges from an axil, or most of its parts do so
  • the inflorescence is at the tip of the plant

  Inflorescence shape

  the aggregations within the inflorescence are roughly circular (not flattened) in cross-section

  Inflorescence type

  there are two or more flowers, spikes or flower clusters on a branched inflorescence

  Perianth composition

  there are bristles attached at the base of the achene

  Stamen number

  • 2
  • 3

  Stigma number

  2

  Style division

  the top two thirds of the style is divided

  floral bristle barbs

  the bristles have tiny barbs on them

  plantlets budding at flower bases

  no

• Fruits or seeds

  Achene beak length

  0 mm

  Achene surface texture

  the achene is smooth (it has no detectable texture)

  Achene tubercle relative width

  the tubercle is one half to two thirds as wide as the achene

  Capsule relative length

  NA

  Fruit cross-section

  the fruit is biconvex or elliptic (widest in the middle and tapering to both ends) in cross-section

  Fruit length

  1.5–2 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is like a seed, and surrounded by scales

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is an achene (dry, seed-like fruit) with a tubercle (a swelling or projection, usually of a different color or texture) on it

  Locules in capsule

  NA

  Seed length

  0 mm

  Seed tail relative length

  0 mm

  Seed tails

  NA

  Tubercle height

  0.5–1.2 mm

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Rhizome thickness

  0 mm

  Underground organs

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Auricle length

  0 mm

  Auricle texture

  NA

  Auricles

  there are no auricles on the leaf sheath

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is flat or rolled in at the edges

  Leaf blade length

  0.5–1.5 mm

  Leaf blade width

  0.5–1.5 mm

  Leaf form

  all the leaves hold their form out of water

  Leaf position on plant

  some leaf attachment points are above the midpoint of the stem

  Leaf septa

  the leaf blades do not have transverse septa

  Leaf sheath hairs

  the leaf sheathes are without hairs

  Pedicel length (Typha)

  0 mm

  Stem leaf blades

  there are fully-developed leaves with leaf blades on the main stem

  Width of seed-producing inflorescence

  15–25 mm

• Place

  Habitat

  wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • bogs
  • edges of wetlands
  • fens (calcium-rich wetlands)

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Plant height

  6–75 cm

  Stem shape in cross-section

  • the stem is roughly triangular in cross-section
  • the stem is round or oval in cross-section

  Stem texture near tip

  the stem feels smooth near the tip

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

In New England

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key