Rhynchospora (beak-rush or beak-sedge) is a genus of about 400 species of sedges with a cosmopolitan distribution.

The genus includes both annual and perennial species, mostly with erect 3-sided stems and 3-ranked leaves.

The achenes bear a beak-like tubercule (hence the name “beak-rush”, although the plants are sedges, not rushes) and are sometimes subtended by bristles.

Many of the species are similar in vegetative appearance, and mature fruits are needed to make a positive identification.

However, this molecular analysis also suggests that Pleurostachys is embedded within one of the primary clades of Rhynchospora and that several of the recognized sections are not monophyletic.