Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Sphenopholis nitida
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Wedgescales are not well-known as a group and tend to escape notice, especially as most species average only 1-2 feet tall. This one and Longleaf Wedgescale (S. filiformis) are particularly hard to characterize, as they look ordinarily "grassy", per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sphenopholis nitida
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sphenopholis nitida
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24 (2007)
Sphenopholis nitida
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-31-003:
Sphenopholis nitida FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sphenopholis nitida
INCLUDING Flora of the Southeastern US (Small, 1913)
Eatonia glabra
INCLUDING Flora of the Southeastern US (Small, 1913)
Eatonia nitida
COMMON NAME:
Shiny Wedgescale
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_spni_001_pvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_spni_002_pvd
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Sphenopholis nitida
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sphenopholis nitida
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sphenopholis nitida
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24
Sphenopholis nitida
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-31-003:
Sphenopholis nitida
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sphenopholis nitida
INCLUDING
Flora of the Southeastern US (Small, 1913)
Eatonia glabra
INCLUDING
Flora of the Southeastern US (Small, 1913)
Eatonia nitida
5020
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Rich forests, moist forests, bottomlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains of GA & NC, common in NC Piedmont (uncommon elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate, 2-ranked
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Cespitose [growing in dense tufts, clumping]
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Inflorescence a panicle, usually narrow & dense
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".