Eriophorum brachyantherum | |
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Northland cottonsedge | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Cyperaceae |
Genus: | Eriophorum |
Species: | E. brachyantherum |
Binomial name | |
Eriophorum brachyantherum Trautv & C.A.Mey. | |
Eriophorum brachyantherum, the closed-sheath cotton-grass, short-anthered cotton-grass or northland cottonsedge , is a species that is a part of the Cyperaceae or sedge family. [1] It is commonly found in wet areas, such as bogs and cooler climate zones.
Eriophorum brachyantherum is a perennial monocot with 30–60 cm long stems, 1–2 cm flowers, and 2–4 cm fruit. The root balls are very thick with a fibrous root system. [1] The flower is a single, white, cotton ball-like, feathery flower. In the center of the flower there is an oval shaped fruit that contains short anthers. [1] The fruit is an achene that has scales and is surrounded by perianth bristles. The bristles are extended within the fruit and tend to be silky. [2] This plant grows in grass-like environments and blooms during the summer months of June, July, and August. [3]
The northland cottonsedge has a circumboreal distribution in North America, Europe, and Asia. In the United States it is primarily occurs in Alaska, though it has been recorded from Idaho and Washington as well. [4] In Canada it occurs natively almost country-wide (AB, BC, MB, NL, NT, NU, ON, QC, SK, YT). It prefers to grow in wet areas, and is commonly found in or near bogs, tundra, muskeg, and fens. [5]
Eriophorum brachyantherum can be found in water-saturated substrates with high organic matter content. Damp areas with poor drainage such as wet meadows, tundra landscapes, and flood plains are common occupancy areas for populations of this herb. [6] Muskeg swamps are also common environments where this plant is found because of the heavily saturated soil and high organic matter from partially dead vegetation and mosses that occupy the surrounding area. Northland cottonsedge is seldom seen distant from forest edges. [6]
Eriophorum brachyantherum flowers in the summertime. The central flowering stems of this plant are significantly taller than the leaves surrounding them. Both sexes are present on each floret of the terminal spike. There are 3 stamens with the anthers splitting longitudinally and 3 ovary carpels that are syncarpous. Each ovary consists of 3 stigmas and 1 ovule. The seed heads consist of white cotton-like fibers and are dispersed by the wind to spread the seeds. [7]
The stem and root of this plant were previously used as food by Native Americans, albeit very seldom. The Native Americans would boil the root or simply eat it raw, and for the stem they would store it or fry it in seal oil. The Yupik people used an extract from the leaves as a medical treatment for a variety of gastrointestinal problems. [8]
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large; botanists have described some 5,500 known species in about 90 genera – the largest being the "true sedges", with over 2,000 species.
Rubus spectabilis, the salmonberry, is a species of bramble in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the west coast of North America from west-central Alaska to California, inland as far as Idaho. Like many other species in the genus Rubus, the salmonberry plant bears edible fruit, typically yellow-orange or red in color, resembling raspberries in appearance.
Bidens tripartita is a common and widespread species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly known as three-lobe beggarticks, three-part beggarticks, leafy-bracted beggarticks or trifid bur-marigold. It is native to much of Eurasia, North Africa, and North America, with naturalized populations in Australia and on some Pacific Islands.
Eriophorum angustifolium, commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soils, in open wetland, heath or moorland. It begins to flower in April or May and, after fertilisation in early summer, the small, unremarkable brown and green flowers develop distinctive white bristle-like seed-heads that resemble tufts of cotton; combined with its ecological suitability to bog, these characteristics give rise to the plant's alternative name, bog cotton.
Eriophorum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog habitats, being particularly abundant in Arctic tundra regions.
The perennial flower Abronia latifolia or Abronia arenaria is a species of sand-verbena known commonly as the coastal sand-verbena, or yellow sand-verbena. It is native to the west coast of North America, from southern California to southern British Columbia. In Canada, it is at risk of becoming extirpated, threatened, or endangered.
The shrub Ribes lacustre is known by the common names prickly currant, black swamp gooseberry, and black gooseberry. It is widely distributed in North America.
Pedicularis groenlandica is a showy flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae commonly known as elephant's head, little pink elephant, elephantella, or similar common names inspired by the resemblance of the flower to the head of an elephant. It is also less commonly known as butterfly tongue for the long beak on the flower. Like many other plants in genus Pedicularis, it is a parasitic plant and depends on host plants to survive.
Rhynchospora alba, the white beak-sedge, is a plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a tufted herbaceous perennial around 50 cm tall, with white inflorescences that flower in August. The fruit of the sedge is a small achene with a characteristic beak-like cap. It is dispersed by wind or falls by gravity, leading to individuals existing in tight clumps. The species favours wet, acidic and nutrient poor soils, thriving in Sphagnum-dominated bogs, but also peaty grasslands. As such, it is often used as a positive indicator for bog and mire ecosystem health.
Eriophorum callitrix, commonly known as Arctic cotton, Arctic cottongrass, suputi, or pualunnguat in Inuktitut, is a perennial Arctic plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is one of the most widespread flowering plants in the northern hemisphere and tundra regions. Upon every stem grows a single round, white and wooly fruit. The seeds are covered in this cottony mass and usually disperse when the wind carries them away. Eriophorum callitrix has narrow, grass-like leaves. Its habitats include tundra and calcareous bogs.
Eriophorum gracile is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is known by the common name slender cottongrass, or slender cottonsedge. Eriophorum gracile is a plant with circumboreal distribution, extending south into mountain ranges of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in wet areas such as bogs.
Eriophorum vaginatum, the hare's-tail cottongrass, tussock cottongrass, or sheathed cottonsedge, is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout the Holarctic Kingdom. It is a 30–60 cm high tussock-forming plant with solitary spikes.
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology. For other related terms, see Glossary of phytopathology, Glossary of lichen terms, and List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.
Eriophorum viridicarinatum is a species of sedge known by the common names thinleaf cottonsedge, green-keeled cottongrass, and bog cottongrass. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs in Alaska and throughout much of Canada, its range extending into the northern contiguous United States. Its distribution is more patchy in the west but it is widespread in eastern Canada.
Pyrola grandiflora (, commonly known as Arctic wintergreen or largeflowered wintergreen, is a hardy perennial evergreen subshrub in the family Ericaceae. It is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere from temperate to tundra-like climates.
Vaccinium oxycoccos is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry. It is widespread throughout the cool temperate northern hemisphere, including northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.
Arnica lonchophylla is a species of flowering plant in family Asteraceae. The common names for this species includes longleaf arnica, northern arnica, and spear-leaved arnica. It has daisy-like yellow flowers that are 2.5 to 5 cm across with a yellow center disks.
Trichophorum cespitosum subsp. germanicum is a subspecies of Trichophorum cespitosum. It is a characteristic plant of nutrient-poor moors, wet heaths and moorland forests in Europe. The mostly hedgehog-shaped form of its tufts is characteristic.
Eriophorum virginicum, the tawny cottongrass, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to eastern North America but was introduced in British Columbia in western Canada. It is most common in eastern Canada, New England, and the Great Lakes region. It is the only species of Eriophorum in North America that occurs in the southeastern United States, where it is uncommon. The common name refers to the tawny color of its fruiting head. Despite the name, it is a sedge, not a grass, and it is sometimes called tawny cottonsedge to emphasize this fact.
Eriophorum tenellum is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae.