''Rhynchospora megaplumosa'', the Manatee beaksedge, is a plant species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to a small region in central

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It is known from only 4 Counties:

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

, Hillsboro,

Manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

and

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

. It generally grows on sandy soil in pine woodlands.Flora of North America v 23 p 218. ''Rhynchospora megaplumosa''
/ref> ''Rhynchospora megaplumosa'' is a perennial herb up to 90 cm tall, often forming clumps. Culms are round in cross-section.

Spikelets A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

are densely crowded together, tapering at both ends, light brown, about 9 mm long, with bristles nearly twice as long as the fruit, sticking out of the spikelet and giving a feathery appearance. Kükenthal, G. 1949–1951. Vorarbeiten zu einer Monographie der Rhynchosporoideae 18. ''Rhynchospora'' Vahl. Botanische Jahrbuch der Systematik 74: 375–509; 75: 90–115, 273–314, 451–497.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15555060 megaplumosa Plants described in 2000 Endemic flora of Florida Flora without expected TNC conservation status