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Shining Nut Rush

Scleria nitida

Found in sandhills, dry sandy or rocky soil of pine/scrub oak woodlands, ridgetop forests at lower elevations in the Mountains such as pine/oak heaths, and heath balds. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

12
Modest

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

Profile 41%

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At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 3

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Mountain balds

Round Bald
Grassy bald on a high ridge. Shown: Round Bald, Mitchell County, North Carolina and Carter County, Tennessee, a neighboring state.Round Bald, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record. Faithful JPEG display decode of embedded JP2; no AI or color enhancement. Phone derivative resized proportionally.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
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

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Alabama rankNot available
Global rankG4
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources