Loosehead Beaksedge

Rhynchospora chalarocephala

Found in pine savannas, limesink ponds, and swamps, often weedy and occurring in abundance on wet roadsides and in powerline corridors. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

39

Good

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

Profile 88%

Height: Up to about 3 feet
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Moist to wet

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At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: July to September

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 12 Mississippi 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

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

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.

Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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: 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 · “Brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · 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

Mississippi rank	S3
Global rank	G5
MS status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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