Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Rhynchospora contracta
Small annual with fibrous roots; culms tufted in small clumps, setaceous, 5-30 cm tall, striate, smooth; leaves basal, a few to a culm; blades narrowly linear, shorter tan to equaling culm, 1-2 mm wide, soft, light Green; sheaths light brownish (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).
Occurring abundantly in open sandy grassland and savannas (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Liliopsida (= Monocotyledoneae)
Order
Cyperales
Family
Cyperaceae
Genus
Rhynchospora
Species
contracta
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Rhynchospora micrantha var. contracta
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: The native range of this species is Mexico to Tropical America, W. Tropical Africa (POWO, 2023).
- Adsersen, H. (s.a.) Personal observations Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished Manuscript.
- CONABIO (2009) Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. Cap. nat. México 1.
- D'Arcy, W.G. (1987) Flora of Panama. Checklist and Index. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 17(1): i–xxx, 1–328; 18(2): i–ix, 1–672.
- Davidse, G. Sousa, S.M. & Chater, A.O. (1994) Alismataceae a Cyperaceae. Fl. Mesoamer. 6: i–xvi, 1–543.
- Eliasson, U.H. (1993) 35A. Phytolaccaceae. Flora del Ecuador 46: 1–43.
- Funk, V.T. Hollowell, T., Berry, P., Kelloff, C. & Alexander, S.N. (2007) Checklist of the Plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 55: 1-584.
- Gómez-Laurito, J. (2003) Cyperaceae. In: Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica, B.E. Hammel, M.H. Grayum, C. Herrera & N. Zamora (eds.). Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 92: 458–551.
- Itow, S. (1987) Comunidades Herbaceas y Ericaceas en las tierras altas de Santa Cruz Islas Galápagos. Pg. 52 - 65. Memorias: Taller sobre investigación Botánica y manejo en Galápagos.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/
- Stevens, W.D. Ulloa, C., Pool, A., & Montiel, O.M. (2001) Flora de Nicaragua. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85: i–xlii, 1–2666.
- Strong, M.T. (2006) Taxonomy and distribution of Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae) in the Guianas, South America. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 53: 1–225.
- Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
- Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Rhynchospora contracta", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=906. Accessed 2 November 2026.