Hurricane-grass
This plant is also known as fringe rush. There are more than 200 species of fringe rushes in the world, only a few of which are aquatic. Except for their inflorescences, these inconspicuous sedges look like small clumps of grass. About a dozen aquatic fringe rushes are native to Florida. They grow in wet areas, and fresh or salt waters, throughout the state. Hurricane-grass has very narrow, stiff, grass-like leaves that grow from the base of the plant.
The flat leaves may be only an eighth of an inch wide, but may be several inches long. The leaf margins are very rough because they have tiny teeth. The inflorescence grows at the top of the stem, well above the leaves. The very short bracts at the base of each inflorescence look very much like small leaves. The inflorescence has several short stalks, each of which may hold dense clusters of up to 20 brown spikelets. The spikelets are generally ovoid shaped, and have overlapping scales. Each spikelet has several very tiny, whitish flowers. The native hurricane-grass is easy to overlook. It is small and grass-like; with narrow, linear leaves. The inflorescence has rounded clusters of many spikelets. The spikelets have overlapping scales, and contain tiny whitish flowers.
