#Rhynchospora colorata

[helluvatimes]

The Nondescript Starrush Whitetop

Rhynchospora colorata or Starrush Whitetop sprouting by the side of the Symphony Lake. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

What seem like white petals are actually the bracts with the flowers sprouting up in the center. This capture was underexposed by 1-2/3 stops to keep the bract highlights from burning out.

[love-elizabeth]

Field journal 📔

ID: Rhynchospora sp. (either R. latifolia or R. colorata)

Common name: whitetop, beak-rush, beak sedge

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This plant is pretty nifty! It’s part of the sedge family, which is similar to grasses.

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The part pictured is the flower. It looks a little like a leaf, but this plant’s leaves grow at the base of the plant. And there’s something else special about this flower.

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The Rhynchospora genus has 400 species, and most of them are pollinated by the wind and don’t need to have a relationship with insects. However, this one is unusual because the “showy” white flower actually does attract bees and butterflies!

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📍Volusia County, FL

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#nature #sedge #nativeplants #flawildflowers #florida #flawildflowers #outsideisfree

@flawildflowerwatch

[crudlynaturephotos]

[deathtek]

5/24/20

[fjorn-wanders]

We lose something special when the grass is cut...

So, this post is a bit of a rant.

I go on walks most evenings (and also some mornings), and there’s nothing particularly special about where I walk. It’s just a straight, plain sidewalk surrounded by flat, grass-covered earth. Yet, even so, I’ve come to appreciate the various plants that grow there. To express my feelings through a terrible pun, they’ve really grown on me. I didn’t notice them at first, of course, but we’ve been getting a lot of rain lately, and so the natural flora has grown much faster than the local government can cut them back down.

It was only a matter of time before this happened, though:

Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed this evening. 

They’ve done the trimming, which means that (likely by tomorrow morning) the diverse realm of flora will once again be reduced to a flat, lifeless plain of dreadful stubs.

I had gotten used to that life-filled kingdom made of colorful weeds and bustling insects, for the wild flora invited various forms of life to come explore and work there. I enjoyed the dancing butterflies, both alone and in pairs, that leapt from one petal to the next. I was always amused by the random beetles that scurried across the sidewalk suddenly, causing me to step awkwardly in an attempt to avoid stepping on them. I’ll even miss the sound of crickets singing and the sight of them leaping around the the edges of the sidewalk.

I’ll miss the various towers, colorful and fair, that grew within that wild realm of grass. For example, in the first picture I used for this post, you can see one of my favorite wildflowers: the Starrush Whitetop (Rhynchospora colorata). Every time I see them, I feel as though shooting stars are sprouting from the earth.

But I’ll miss the earth wisp-homes, as well...

...and the endless dots of color, small yet enchanting, that peeked out in delicate patches:

These flowers are as fair as the starlit sky, when you pay attention to them. Some are small and clustered, while others shine bold and bright, but they all have a beauty of their own to offer. In my mind, however, the true star of this grassy grove was the Largeflower Mexican Clover (Richardia grandiflora):

These flowers are like ethereal stars sprouting from the soil---translucent, delicate, and fair beyond words. I always stopped to admire them, so much so that they’ve become the inspiration for a special flower in my book. I just can’t help but think that they were once the tears of elves---tears born from moments of great love and joy, rather than sorrow---or perhaps a mixture of both, from a moment both painful and beautiful.

...

I’m sad to be reminded that these wonderful plants, of which I’ve only mentioned a small fraction of their seemingly endless varieties, will inevitably be reduced to unrecognizable remnants.

Tamely-cut grass is full of sorrow...there’s so much beauty lost when we reduce their wildly-grown realm to a flat plain of green stubs.

I look forward to watching them grow back, though.

[lord-allo]

Sternentänzer (-Gras), Stern-Sumpfgras, Floridagras

Star-rush whitetop, whitetop sedge

Rhynchospora colorata

[fulviomeloni]

Sternentänzer by Faline http://ift.tt/2ubkhcu #macro

[greenffink]

「FOR AQUATIC PLANTS LOVERS」La Rhynchospora colorata o Dichromena colorata è una pianta palustre un po’ insolita e poco conosciuta. È una pianta subtropicale originaria del centro America, ma resistente a temperature invernali sotto i dodici gradi. In zone come il nord Italia rimane dormiente fino a maggio, infatti pensavo di aver perso questa splendida pianta, ma bastava solo aspettare. Inizio giugno ha incominciato a comparire il suo elegante fogliame lungo fino a una sessantina di centimetri e largo pochi millimetri. A fine giugno, qualche apice delle foglie hanno iniziato a tingersi di bianco, schiudendo un bellissimo fiore bianco stellato e sta continuando a fare fiori! Si può coltivare in una zona umida del laghetto o immersa fino a una decina di centimetri, caratteristica che la rende ottima come pianta di connessione tra terra e acqua, dando l’effetto ottico di un laghetto più grande di quanto non lo sia in realtà. Io la trovo magnifica e voi? Se ti è piaciuta, puoi salvare il post o condividerlo con i tuoi amici, lo faccio spesso anche io ☺️ . [Eng] 🇬🇧 Colored Rhynchospora or Dichromena is a slightly unusual and little-known (in Italy) marsh plant. It is a subtropical plant native to Central America, but resistant to winter temperatures below twelve degrees. In areas like northern Italy it remains dormant until May, in fact I thought I had lost this splendid plant, but it was enough to just wait. Beginning of June its elegant foliage began to appear up to sixty centimeters long and a few millimeters wide. At the end of June, a few tops of the leaves started to turn white, opening a beautiful white starry flower and continuing to make flowers! It can be cultivated in a damp area of the pond or immersed up to about ten centimeters, a characteristic that makes it excellent as a plant of connection between earth and water, giving the optical effect of a larger pond than it actually is. I find it magnificent and you? If you liked it, you can save the post or share it with your friends, I do it too, sharing is beautiful 😍 (presso Saronno) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2RHP-loogg/?igshid=14ap4y5nr4r5g

[hortushorrei]

Rhynchospora colorata (L.) at Corte Eremo, near Mantova.

Starrush whitetop, Star sedge, White-topped sedge, Whitetop sedge, Star rush - Cyperaceae (Sedge Family).