Shortbeak Beaksedge
Rhynchospora nitens
Found in wet pine savannas, limesink (doline) ponds, ditches, disturbed wet areas, often weedy. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 3 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or perennial
- Bloom
- July to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 1 Virginia county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 101 animals.
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Palm WarblerDendroica palmarum
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- Piping PloverCharadrius melodus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Red KnotCalidris canutus
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
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
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
- Green or brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “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
Psilocarya nitens
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SH |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| VA 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
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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