Starrush whitetop
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Rhynchospora colorata
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Cyperaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also moist to wet wildflower gardens. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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Availability: |
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Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries. |
Description: |
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Small to medium herbaceous wildflower. |
Height: |
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About 6-12 inches in height; to 2 feet when in flower. Spreading from underground stems (rhizomes) and forming small open patches. |
Growth Rate: |
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Fast. |
Range: |
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Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; Bermuda, West Indies, Mexico and Central America. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently disjunct from Miami-Dade County to Bahia Honda, Big Pine Key and nearby islands. |
Habitats: |
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Pinelands, marshes and wet prairies. |
Soils: |
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Wet to moist, periodically inundated freshwater or brackish soils. |
Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. |
Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water. |
Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation. |
Drought Tolerance: |
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Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. |
Light Requirements: |
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Full sun. |
Flower Color: |
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White bracts with green tips. |
Flower Characteristics: |
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Semi-showy inflorescence. |
Flowering Season: |
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Spring-fall. |
Fruit: |
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Inconspicuous achene. |
Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed and divisions. |
Comments: |
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See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page. See a 2018 post on the Treasure Coast Natives blog on how this sedge changes throughout the day in order to attract insect pollinators. |
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