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Harper's Beaksedge

Rhynchospora harperi

Found in peaty limesink depression ponds (dolines), from standing water to the upper margins of the pond-shore. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

39
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 28 inches
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or perennial
Bloom
July to September

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 1 Alabama county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 88 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Rhynchospora

  • Euphyes dukesiDukes' Skipper
  • Lethe appalachiaAppalachian Brown, Appalachian Eyed Brown
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
4BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Rhynchospora

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Rhynchospora

  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Rallus elegansKing Rail
  • Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cyperaceae
Flower color
Red, green or brown
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Alabama rankS1
Global rankG4?
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources