Feather-bristle Beaksedge
Rhynchospora oligantha
Found in wet pine savannas, sandhill-pocosin ecotones, sandhill seepage bogs, sea-level fens, usually in rather peaty, acid places. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 16 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 18 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 150 animals.
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-necked StiltHimantopus mexicanus
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- Boat-tailed GrackleQuiscalus major
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
Who uses this plant?
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
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
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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 16 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Feather bristle Beaksedge
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























