Large Beaksedge
Rhynchospora macra
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in sphagnum bogs in frequently-burned streamhead pocosins, sandhill seepage bogs, highly acid, quaking peat bogs. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 32 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 4 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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 Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 60 animals.
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopus
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Yellow RailCoturnicops noveboracensis
Widespread birds also seen here (22)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Canada Goose
- Chimney Swift
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Kingbird
- European Starling
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Mockingbird
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Tree Swallow
- Turkey Vulture
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Rhynchospora
- Euphyes dukesiDukes' Skipper
- Lethe appalachiaAppalachian Brown, Appalachian Eyed Brown
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
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
4BirdsRecorded eating Rhynchospora in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Wild TurkeySeeds. 5 diet records
- Eastern KingbirdSeeds. 1 diet record
- Fulvous Whistling-duckSeeds. 1 diet record
- King RailSeeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Rhynchospora 4
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Fulvous Whistling-duckDendrocygna bicolor
- King RailRallus elegans
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- White or brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 32 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
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G3G4 |
| LA 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
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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

















