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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), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

39
Good

Native to Mississippi. 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 6 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

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.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 81 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (22)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Mississippi

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
3BirdsRecorded eating Rhynchospora in Mississippi

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

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 3

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

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

Mississippi rankS3S4
Global rankG5
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources