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Starrush Whitetop Sedge

Rhynchospora colorata

Found in wet pine savannas, ditches, dune swales, calcareous glades, usually in places with some source of alkalinity (calcareous rocks, shell, brackish water). Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

44
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
1–2 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to September

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 64 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 4

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 163 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Rhynchospora

  • Euphyes dukesiDukes' Skipper
  • Lethe appalachiaAppalachian Brown, Appalachian Eyed Brown
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Diploschizia habecki
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
Hardiness
Zones 7a–10a
Flower color
Green or white

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Dichromena colorata; Whitetop Beaksedge

Conservation status

Florida rankS5
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources