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| Rhynchospora alba (L.) Vahl | Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| TAXONOMY | |||||||||||||||
| Family: | Cyperaceae | ||||||||||||||
| Genus: | Rhynchospora | ||||||||||||||
| Species Synonyms: | Rhynchospora luquillensis Britt. | ||||||||||||||
| Common Names: | white beaksedge white beaked-rush |
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| DISTRIBUTION | |||||||||||||||
| Canada: | western British Columbia, southern Mackenzie District – Saskatchewan, Ontario – Quebec – Labrador – Nova Scotia | ||||||||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | northern to central Saskatchewan; Lake Athabasca – Nipawin | ||||||||||||||
| Ecoregion: | Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Churchill River Upland, Athabasca Plain | ||||||||||||||
| HABITAT | |||||||||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | shore fens and treed bogs | ||||||||||||||
| Associated Species: | black spruce, brown beaksedge, English sundew, few-flowered spikerush, livid sedge, Michaux’s sedge, moor rush, mud sedge, narrowpanicle rush, roundleaf sundew, seaside arrowgrass, tufted bulrush, woollyfruit sedge | ||||||||||||||
| RARITY STATUS | |||||||||||||||
| Provincial
Status According to Harms (2003): |
Vulnerable |
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| Nature Conservancy Status: | G5 S2S3 |
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| Saskatchewan
Species at Risk Status: |
None |
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| COSEWIC Status: | None |
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| White beaksedge is vulnerable in Saskatchewan. This species is apparently secure, with numerous known localities, but still seems to be less common than other species. No immediate threats are known for this species. | |||||||||||||||
| SPECIES DESCRIPTION | |||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 – 75 cm | ||||||||||||||
| Roots: | rhizomes mostly absent; roots fibrous | ||||||||||||||
| Stems: | perennial, densely tufted, erect to curved, obscurely three-angled to round, slender, few-ribbed | ||||||||||||||
| Leaves: | mostly taller than stem, to 2.5 mm long, three-angled, narrowly linear to thread-like, tip tapering | ||||||||||||||
| Inflorescence: | clusters of spikelets 1 – 3, terminal, long-stalked, axillary, widely spaced, 1.5 – 2.5 cm wide, nearly round; leafy bracts shorter than terminal cluster | ||||||||||||||
| Spikelets: | 3.5 – 5.5 mm long, ellipsoid; scales elliptic, midrib extending as a sharp point, milky white to whitish-brown | ||||||||||||||
| Flowers: | perianth bristles 10 – 12, slightly longer than achene, barbed, minutely hairy at base | ||||||||||||||
| Achenes: | 1 – 2 per spikelet, stalked, lens-shaped, relatively smooth, confluent with swelling at base of style, brownish-green with faint transverse brown lines, centre lighter | ||||||||||||||
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